Amicus With Dahlia Lithwick | Law, justice, and the courts - Trump Has a Plan for the Midterms, SCOTUS May Help

On this week’s Amicus, Dahlia Lithwick checks in with Protect Democracy co-founder Ian Bassin about the United States’ speedy retreat from democracy, and how lawyers seeking to protect the constitution are adapting their strategies for Trump 2.0. While Trump’s second term is following an authoritarian playbook, some courts are acting as speed bumps, while others (we’re looking at you, SCOTUS), are increasingly pickled in right-wing brine. The velocity of America’s descent into illiberalism is startling and dangerous, but Bassin argues it is also potentially self-defeating, thanks to Trump’s historic unpopularity that is growing faster than his ability to consolidate power. The two discuss Protect Democracy’s shift from a litigation-heavy strategy to combining court fights with coalition-building, and Ian outlines threats to the 2026 elections—“deceive, disrupt, deny”—including efforts like the SAVE Act and why the President’s decision to deploy ICE to stand around in airports around the country is a clear effort to normalize their presence at polling places in November. But he also stresses that overwhelming participation and public organizing are the ultimate backstops if election results are contested.

Suggested reading: protectdemocracy.org/executive-override/

Want more Amicus? Join Slate Plus to unlock weekly bonus episodes with exclusive legal analysis. Plus, you’ll access ad-free listening across all your favorite Slate podcasts. You can subscribe directly from the Amicus show page on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. Or, visit slate.com/amicusplus to get access wherever you listen.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Det här avsnittet är hämtat från ett öppet RSS-flöde och publiceras inte av Podme. Det kan innehålla reklam.

Avsnitt(4797)

Political Gabfest - How Many Divisions Has the Pope?

This week, Emily Bazelon, John Dickerson, and David Plotz discuss Trump's Hormuz blockade and his feud with the Pope, a new oral history chronicling stark shifts inside the Department of Homeland Secu...

16 Apr 1h 2min

What Next - You Come at the Pope, You Best Not Miss

In Pope Leo XIV, Donald Trump has finally run into someone he can’t silence, threaten, or sully. He’s not taking it gracefully. Guest: Christopher Hale, author of the “Letters from Leo” Substack, “a ...

16 Apr 27min

What Next - Does JD Vance Have the Juice?

In a single weekend, JD Vance managed to flunk out of peace talks with Iran and hitch the Trump wagon to Victor Orban’s star just in time for it to implode. Like Kamala Harris before him, the vice pre...

15 Apr 23min

Slate Money - Money Talks: Psychopathy and Success

In this Money Talks: Elizabeth Spiers is joined by psychologist Dr. Leanne ten Brinke whose new book, Poisonous People, explores the impact that people with psychopathic and related personality traits...

14 Apr 33min

What Next - What If the US and Iran Are Both Losing?

The U.S. and Iran began (and ended) negotiations under a shaky ceasefire, and are now at the stage where America is threatening to also blockade the Strait of Hormuz. Meanwhile, Israel and Lebanon hav...

14 Apr 27min

What Next - They Came For Ibram X Kendi. He’s Still Here.

Lurking behind—and sometimes explicitly out in front of — the Trump administration’s ire for DEI, its crackdowns on immigration, and its rhetoric about what kind of country America is, is “the Great R...

13 Apr 34min

What Next: TBD | Tech, power, and the future - Who is Sam Altman Anyway?

If you had as much trouble getting along with other humans as Sam Altman does, you too might be eager to issue in the artificial intelligence revolution.Guest: Andrew Marantz, staff writer for the New...

12 Apr 31min

Amicus With Dahlia Lithwick | Law, justice, and the courts - Time to Impeach Trump Again?

The events of the past week have revealed a terrifying disconnect between the constitutional remedies available to us and the gravity of the threats posed by an utterly unfit President with his finger...

11 Apr 1h 6min