Monday on the RealClearPolitics podcast, RCP White House reporter Carolina Lumetta and presidential historian Tevi Troy join Tom Bevan and Andrew Walworth to break down how the Trump administration is handling the war with Iran and relations with Venezuela and Cuba, and his latest symbolic salvo against Canada.
Plus, can Michigan Democratic Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed pivot to the center, and should Republicans running for reelection do the same or embrace Trump? Does Trump even care about the midterms? Is Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez the ideal candidate to unite the two factions of the Democratic Party in 2028?
Listen live weekdays at 11:00 a.m. Eastern on SiriusXM’s Megyn Kelly Channel 111, or on Apple, Spotify, YouTube, or other platforms.
Walworth and Bevan discuss whether President Trump’s strategy is working as the U.S. exchanges more air strikes with Iran and the war passes the six-month mark.
Watch: Trump On Negotiating With Iran: “It’s Not The Most Honorable Group”
“If they’re resorting to kinetic action, if it really starts to heat up again, that can’t be good for the president going into the midterms,” Walworth said.
***
06:38 — Trump Diplomacy With Venezuela and Cuba
The panel turns to the Trump administration’s new deal with Venezuela to buy 65 billion barrels of oil at cost, and reports of economic liberalization in Cuba.
WSJ: Trump Takes the Oil in Venezuela
“It sounds like a good deal for the U.S. — the question is how is it going to be implemented?” Bevan asked. “But on its face, it’s a good deal for us.”
“The Wall Street Journal calls it ‘creeping crony statism,’ and says we’re in bed with a dictator,” Walworth said. “Is that the country we’ve become? Are we just about colonialism? We’re going to take your oil, and we don’t care.”
***
13:15 — Lake America
RCP White House reporter Carolina Lumetta joins the show to discuss President Trump renaming Lake Ontario in response to the breakdown of U.S.-Canada trade talks.
Watch: Trump Changes Name Of Lake Ontario To Lake America: “Now, All We Need Is An Ocean”
“This is an act that is wearing a little thin,” Bevan said. “It’s stupid.”
***
17:24 — Abdul El-Sayed, Antisemitism and Hasan Piker
Historian Tevi Troy joins the group to break down how antisemitism is defining the Michigan Senate race and Abdul El-Sayed’s campaign, and the growing role of influencers on political campaigns.
Watch: Abdul El-Sayed: This Campaign Is Not About A Twitch Streamer In California
“When somebody says, ‘Anybody who might have been offended, I apologize,’ and, ‘If anyone was offended’—I mean, if you try that stuff on your spouse, you know it’s not an apology,” Troy said.
RCP Average: 2026 Michigan Senate – Rogers vs. El-Sayed | El-Sayed +1.8
“I think we’re entering this new era of campaigning where you need influencers, you need social media presence, and every candidate is helped by a major podcaster,” Lumetta said. “I think El-Sayed is an early example of how difficult it is to balance that when the person that you’re relying on to bring you all of that attention is a very controversial figure himself.”
***
25:32 — Should Republicans Run Toward Trump in Midterms?
The panel considers Trump’s successful intervention in Darline Graham’s South Carolina primary and whether Republican candidates elsewhere will seek similar help, and whether JD Vance can appeal to Republican Jewish constituencies during a campaign visit to Michigan.
“Republican candidates trying to run away from Trump is a fool’s errand,” Bevan said. “They’re going to get pegged with Trump anyway.”
***
32:42 — What History Says About Midterms
How much does President Trump really care about Republicans winning the midterm elections? Troy says Trump understands the danger of Democratic investigations but approaches party politics differently from traditional presidents, while Bevan argues Trump increasingly seems focused on large legacy projects rather than short-term election wins.
“It’s not like this Congress has been particularly productive even with the Republican majority,” Lumetta said. “So for the president, especially this term, he’s been governing largely by executive order. He’s not necessarily waiting around for Congress to do things.”
“A Democrat-led Congress is going to be much, much more obstructive, and I don’t think he’s going to like that necessarily. But he’s never really been all that hung up on whether or not he has a majority,” she said.
***
37:48 — AOC Rejoins the Socialists
The panel discusses Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez renewing her DSA membership and an effort within the organization to encourage a 2028 presidential campaign. Is she the ideal bridge candidate to unite the two wings of the Democratic Party?
“AOC is standing there as the one person, above all else, who has the credibility, I think, to be the candidate that could unite the Democratic Party, the factions which are currently warring, and maybe create a truce and get them on the same side in 2028,” Bevan said.
“She’s very politically savvy, and she has a large following, not even just within the Democratic Party,” Lumetta added. “She has this broad coalition of people.”
***
44:18 — GOP Convening in Dallas
The episode ends with a discussion of the Republican Party’s September 9–10 midterm convention in Dallas. Lumetta says the event is intended to concentrate attention on Trump and energize turnout, but the panel questions how much it can help vulnerable Republican candidates outside Texas.
“Both parties used to have midterm conventions, but then they both stopped because they decided it was a waste of both time and money,” Lumetta said. “The gamble here that the president is hoping for is that he himself can galvanize that turnout support.”
Bevan concludes: “It’ll get a lot of coverage, and the question is, how do they use that coverage?”
Listen to RealClearPolitics weekdays at 11 a.m. Eastern on SiriusXM’s Megyn Kelly Channel 111, or on Apple, Spotify, YouTube, or other platforms.
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