For analysis of President Biden's trip abroad. This week in the 2024
presidential race, we turn now to the analysis of Brooks and K part.
That's New York Times columnist David Brooks and Jonathan Capehart,
associate editor for The Washington Post. It's good to see you both
looking back at the week that was President Biden notched a number
of wins this past week in Europe. He celebrated some major breakthroughs
at the NATO summit. He was able to showcase his devotion to diplomatic
engagement. What were your takeaways from the trip? Starting with
you, David, you know when he was President Donald Trump said that
NATO was obsolete. That wasn't a totally crazy position that seemed
to be like we had it for the Cold War. And why do we need now? What
we've learned why it's not obsolete anymore. And Biden has really
opinion his presidency around this idea that we're in a contest between
authoritarian governments and democratic governments, and he really
has used a lot of different meetings and with India and with others
to try to advance the democracy, Democratic sides cause and no week
was bigger than this one. Getting Sweden in over the previous objections
of Turkey was significant. Getting more commitments for Ukraine was
significant. The slowly developing and census that Ukraine is not
going to join NATO now, but after the war is over, it probably will.
That's also significant. So either case, he's he's expanding the
Democratic camp. What were your impressions? Um, just have nothing
to add to what David said, because I mean, he lays it out perfectly.
But I just want to talk about what the president did after the NATO
summit. And where he went Helsinki
and the room. He was in the exact same room, where five years to
the day earlier than President Donald Trump, with Vladimir Putin
standing right next to him. When asked about Russian interference
in the election, he said, Well, I asked President Putin and he said
it wasn't him and I have no reason to believe to believe otherwise.
That was a thunderclap moment for the Alliance of Thunderclap Moment
for the American people who care about the United States, Um, standing
in the world, but also the American president standing up not just
for the liberal small D democratic order, but for the alliance and
for the United States role in the world. And there you have President
Biden five years to the day later, standing there clearly as not
just the the American president, but the leader of an Alliance that
is standing firm against the aggression authoritarianism of Vladimir
Putin, and I just think that that is the cherry on top to what David
just said about the president's week on the matter of building a
coalition of democracies and supporting Ukraine. There is a record
high 44% of Republicans and GOP leaning independents who say the
US is giving too much aid to Ukraine. This is, according to a Pew
research survey released last month, and Republican presidential
candidates have really seized on this. This wariness of the cost
of the war. Do our allies have reason to be concerned about the durability
of the U. S commitment? Yes, you know in the 19 forties, tried, as
now was thinking running for president, but he thought well, there's
this guy Robert Taft Senator Republican senator. Maybe he'll run
and he wanted to know if Taft Road sport NATO's basically support
US engagement abroad, and Taft wouldn't And so I was, and I just
had to run as a Republican. And because of that move the Republican
Party over the ensuing decades was a pretty internationalist party.
Obviously Reagan George H. W. Bush George W. Bush, US should exert
power abroad but now over the last couple of years The Republican
Party has been returning to what was the pre Eisenhower bias toward
don't want to say isolation, but let's take care of ourselves at
home. Suspicion of foreign alliances. And so for a while, we didn't
have big polling gaps between Democrats and Republicans on how interventionist
the U S should be. Now we really do. And so it's not just the Donald
Trump thing. It's a lot of lot of Republicans have said We should
just not be wasting our money abroad, and that's an ancient war cry
in America, but we had about 50 years without it, but now it's come
back. Yeah. I mean, David says, you know, Republicans, you know,
you know, you know, we should take care of, you know our own at home,
But the Republicans we're talking about today. Don't even want to
take care of what's happening here in the country
with a lot of the things that that that they voted against. So, um,
just wanted to put that in there. I know I'd cut you off, Jeff, you're
about that. I was gonna ask one. What you thought about that, but
also, you know, typically, foreign policy doesn't really resonate
in presidential elections. Will that change this year? This Well,
do you think given what's happening in Ukraine? Sure, I mean it very
well. Might. I think the president's leadership makes it something
that could be Saillant salient for the American people. But this
is the other point I wanted to make in terms of the money and the
concern of the American people, particularly Republicans, about the
all the money that's being spent. I thought it was very important.
That President Zelensky before he said Anything when meeting with
the president, you know, thank the American people for their support
and specifically, thank them. I thank you for your money because
he understands that it is a financial sacrifice for the American
people, and he wants he wants us to know that he knows that and realizes
that and that when the president says we will be with Ukraine front,
you know, no matter how long it takes That Zelinsky is like, Hey,
You know, we we appreciate it keep it coming on the matter of defense
and money. Congress, as we heard earlier in the program is considering
the National Defense Authorization Act, which sets policy for the
Defense Department. The House narrowly approved its version last
night, and it includes Republican provision blocking abortion coverage.
Diversity initiatives at the Pentagon transgender care In years past.
This was a bipartisan enterprise. What do you make of this effort
by Republicans to use this bill as a as a cudgel in the culture wars
and to really virtue signal to members of their base?
There are two things going on here. One is the amendments, which
I'm basically fine with, like having the Pentagon pay for people
to travel for abortion, That's a policy choice. The Pentagon made
the policy choices based on a set of philosophies, and there was
some other Republicans have a different philosophy and so they can
try to vote it down, and that's fine. That's to me. That's the Democratic
process. The terrible thing that's happening is Senator Tuberville
is blocking promotions until he gets his abortion policy correct,
and that just weakens the military. It's fine to have a debate. It's
fine ever amendments would find to have a policy process. It's not
fine to weaken. Our military because of your philosophy, and there's
a I'm doing a lot of history. And I am the ghost of Mark Shields
smiling upon me. Uh, Abraham Keiper was 1/19 century 20th, century
Dutch Prime Minister and the The thing called the Philosophy of the
Spheres that we have different spheres of life. Politics is over
here. The military's over here. The media is over here. You ruin
the society if you don't respect the differences of the spheres.
And the military does its own thing, by its own logic by its own
standards, and should not have outsiders screwing up the way it does
its business for an ideological culture war issue. President Biden
has called on Republicans to talk to Tuberville, Senator Tuberville
to get him to change his ways here. It doesn't seem like that's gonna
happen. Yeah, And you know the the onus is on Senator Tuberville.
Because what he's doing is it's shameful. It's reprehensible. It
puts our national security at risk ensure the Marine Corps commandant
in waiting can be acting. Um, but this is the first time in a what
100 and 50 years there hasn't been a Senate confirmed commandant
of the Marine Corps, and that's important because for that person
to be Senate confirmed, that means that that person is He is beholden
to the American people accountable to the American people. And, you
know, I don't know what it's going to take for Senator Tuberville
to change his changed his view. Um, I wish I could change his view
on, you know, holding up these promotions in the same way he changed
his view, right quick on his definition of white nationalism and
whether it's racism or not, But that's another conversation. Isn't
it
Well in the few minutes that remain. Let's talk about 2024 because
former President Donald Trump is not among the Republican presidential
candidates gathering into Moin for the Family Leadership Summit,
a gathering of Christian conservatives. At this point, does it even
matter, or is he so far ahead that his lead is basically just insurmountable?
I don't think it's insurmountable. I mean, there's a lot of rumbling
among the donor class, uh, turning towards Tim Scott or others as
the dissenters bubble fades a little, so I think there's gonna be
a lot of movement whether he can get away with not debating. I really
don't know it's I'm very curious to learn. But I think I am going
to learn because I don't think he's going to do a lot of these debates.
And this may be just another rule that he's allowed to break with
impunity. You think voters want the guy to show up? But the polling
on Trump is he's still so popular. They think he's going to be Biden
like his economic policies he could win without debating which would
be bad. You shaking your head? Yes, it would be bad and he thinks
he can win without debating and he probably can. I mean each indictment,
his poll numbers have gone up. I'm old enough to remember you get
indicted, Criminally indicted. You might as well just close up your
campaign shop and go home and the reverses the opposite has been
true. So don't show up for debate Watch his poll numbers go up the
fact that the Republican donor class is now giving a second look
to Tim Scott. Given concerns about the De Santis campaign. How does
that strike you? It strikes me as smart on their part. I mean, I
haven't used these words that I'll use them now and please don't
at me, But to my mind that from the moment, Senator Scott got into
the race. He was the dark horse in this campaign that he was the
one person while I don't agree with him on pretty much anything.
I thought his launch of what he had to say. To the Republican Party.
Faithful was something that was interesting. He was happy Warrior.
Um he is worth worth the look. And it's telling that that leaked
memo from the De Santis campaign shows that Governor De Santis wants
to focus now on Tim Scott. Because they see a what I see. Senator
Scott is the one they should be worried about. How do you see it?
I see it the same at this point in the race, I think mostly. What
you want to do is focus on it's like spring training. You're looking
at pictures. Can they throw a curveball? Can they throw us lighter?
Are they do they have political skills? And that's more important
than the numbers the
and but they Tim Scott has skills and so he's just good at this.
And so he's going to get this moment. Alright. David Brooks and Jonathan
Capehart, thanks to you both. Thanks.