What a fabulous romp of a conversation with my friend Waj, the wonderful and captivating host of THE LEFT HOOK with Wajahat Ali!
Spanning US domestic politics and Trumpian foreign policy, Waj and I discussed:
The DNC’s secret autopsy of the 2024 election: Per reporting yesterday from Axios, the internal report “concluded that Harris lost significant support because of the Biden administration's approach to the war in Gaza.” Concerned that releasing such findings could prove explosive, the autopsy “has been under lock and key since party leaders decided last year to hide it from the public.” Waj and I shared our thoughts on a Democratic establishment that is dangerously avoiding a reckoning and the need for change.
AIPAC’s desperate interventions in Democratic Congressional primaries: We reflected on AIPAC’s use of GOP megadonors’ money to determine the results of Democratic primaries. In particular, we discussed AIPAC’s intervention in New Jersey’s 11th Congressional district, where it spent $2.3 million to defeat moderate Tom Malinowski. We also spoke about races in Illinois and Michigan. I highly recommend reading Malinowski’s piece, A Cautionary Note to Fellow Dems from an AIPAC Target.
US Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee’s Christian Zionism: We unpacked Tucker Carlson’s interview with Amb. Mike Huckabee in Ben-Gurion Airport. While many at home and in the Arab world have (justifiably) slammed Huckabee for stating “it would be fine if [Israel] took it all,” referring to a large swath of the Middle East, I emphasized a less-noticed claim by Huckabee that “Area C is Israel.” Area C accounts for 60% of the West Bank and is occupied Palestinian territory. Huckabee, however, has apparently annexed it to Israel, to the delight of Christian Zionists and Israel’s settlement movement.
Potential US war against Iran: Waj and I break down why President Trump appears on the brink of launching a war against Iran — as well as the reasons it would be illegal, foolhardy, dangerous for our service members, costly for American consumers, unpopular, and prone to unintended consequences.
I’d love to hear your thoughts on this conversation!
Exciting News:
Brad Lander returns to The Debrief on Wednesday at 10am ET!
Brad Lander and I had a great conversation in October, in which we discussed his and Zohran Mamdani’s cross endorsement in the NYC mayoral primary, the importance of Muslim-Jewish solidarity, and attacks on Mamdani from within the Jewish community. Now, Lander is running for Congress in New York’s 10th Congressional district and I’m delighted to welcome him back to The Debrief. We’ll discuss why he’s running for Congress; the meaning of his campaign’s ‘Fight, Don’t Fold’ motto; and his stances on key issues, including workers’ rights, ICE, Israel-Palestine, and AIPAC.
Let me know if you have questions you’d like me to raise with Brad. This conversation will be open to all, with no paywall. Join us and let friends know!
Book Talk with Sari Bashi on Tues, March 3
The Debrief’s first-ever book talk with author Sari Bashi is coming up next week! Just released in English and already a USA Today bestseller, Upside-Down Love: A Memoir in Two Voices is the impossibly unlikely love story of Sari and her husband Osama, who are now living and raising their children in the West Bank.
To get ready for our book talk with Sari, you’re warmly invited to read Upside-Down Love. Your questions and comments for Sari will be most welcome! Options for ordering the book are here.
The book talk with Sari is exclusively for paid subscribers. Please join up and support The Debrief, if you haven’t already.
That’s it for now! I hope to see many of you on Wednesday for the conversation with Brad Lander.
Warmly,
Debra
