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Episode length: 56m

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It's been said that there's no use proposing that Donald Trump moderate his rhetoric, but with presidential approval ratings being what they are, a friendly reminder about duties and decorum might be just what the doctor ordered. Daniel Mahoney, author and professor emeritus at Assumption College, joins James and Steve to discuss his latest piece, "Discipline at a Moment of Power."

Plus, the fellas consider this morning's breaking news about the SCOTUS ruling on "emergency" tariffs, applaud Marco Rubio's performance in Munich, and reflect on the passing of Jesse Jackson and Robert Duvall.

Hosts:
James LileksSteve Hayward
Guest:
DJDaniel J. Mahoney

Discussion (4)

  • RufusRJones@RufusRJones

    The episode of Larry Elder talking about Jesse Jackson was jaw dropping. I would love to know how much money he's soaked out of corporates for threatening racist protests. etc. He did do some positive things, but I don't see how it netted out.

  • Al Sparks@AlSparks

    I first encountered, even met, Dan Mahoney at a NR Cruise in 2018. I remember the year because during the cruise, it was announced that George H.W. Bush had died. The theme of the cruise was supposed to be William F. Buckley, but that changed when Bush died.

    During one of the round tables where people talked about Bush and his legacy, Dan used that opportunity to rant against Trump, ostensibly comparing Bush against him, but the majority of his speaking time was Trump. So I wrote him off as someone with TDS. I haven't followed him over the years mostly because his beat is focused on religion, especially as it relates to the Roman Catholic Church, and my interests include a little of that, but not a lot.

    So I was surprised when Dan was actually reasonable when talking about Trump.

    I read his article referenced in this post, and I only have one quibble, and that's his advice that Trump stop bullying the European leaders. It's been a long time coming. I prefer the J.D. Vance speech over Marco Rubio's (though I would rather Rubio be president over Vance) because they deserve our contempt. That's what it took to finally get the Europeans to think seriously about their own defense. I'm still skeptical that they actually have the will to defend themselves.

    While I wouldn't rule out coming to their defense if necessary, I do think that we should leave NATO and pull our troops out of Europe. We should have done that when the Berlin Wall fell, and if we had, Europe probably would have funded their military appropriately. The United States basically enabled Europe's dependence on us, and part of the reason is our State and Defense departments civil service’s ego. They liked being feted by the Europeans when they visited.

    So, I do agree with what Trump has done to publicly humiliate European leaders. Western Europe, at least, deserves it.