As the “bully-in-chief” Donald Trump continues attacking his political opponents, immigrants, colleges and universities, and the free press, Mehdi speaks with one prominent figure in Democratic circles who says he’s spent his life fighting back against bullies, Robert Reich.
Reich is a political commentator, economist, professor, and former Secretary of Labor under President Bill Clinton. He’s also a best-selling author, and his latest book, Coming Up Short: A Memoir of My America, comes out Aug. 5. He joins Mehdi to discuss Trump’s assault on democracy, the capitulation by media organizations and universities to Trump, and the complicity of Democrats in Israel’s genocide in Gaza.
“The Democratic Party has abandoned the working class,” Reich tells Mehdi. “It has opened up the possibility of a demagogue, tyrant, fascist named Donald Trump to come in and claim that he is the spokesperson of the working class without any competition.”
While Reich endorsed Zohran Mamdani in the New York City mayoral primary, Democratic Party leaders like Chuck Schumer and Hakeem Jeffries didn’t — a move he called “ridiculous and even disgraceful.”
“There is no longer a Democratic Party as such,” Reich says. “There is a big financial machine called the Democratic Party, the Democratic National Committee. There is also, on the Republican side, a bunch of … absolute zombies that follow Donald Trump. That’s what we have today. We don’t have two governing parties as we did before.”
Reich, who is Jewish, says he’s “deeply anti-Netanyahu and his government,” calling Netanyahu a “war criminal” and the country’s actions in Gaza a war crime and genocide.
He also takes aim at some prominent Democrats: “To support him, to give him armaments, to continue to make it easier for him to do what he is doing in Gaza … There’s no excuse for this. Absolutely none.”
If you are a paid subscriber, you can watch the full interview above to hear why Reich thinks Mamdani and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez are the future of the Democratic Party, the weaponization of antisemitism by the Trump administration, and his thoughts on the Epstein files scandal.
Free subscribers can watch a 5-minute preview. Consider becoming a paid subscriber today to watch the full interview.
You can click here to buy a copy of Reich’s book, Coming Up Short: A Memoir of My America. And do share your own review of it with us in the comments below!
Looking for more book recommendations? Visit the Zeteo book club here for inspiration!
Check out more from Zeteo:
