America’s “Bad Emperor” Problem

The Political Scene | The New Yorker

The New Yorker

Politics, Obama, News, Wnyc, Washington, Barack, President, Lizza, Wickenden

4.2 • 3.3K Ratings

🗓️ 6 December 2025

⏱️ 38 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

The Washington Roundtable discusses President Donald Trump’s health and the signs of his age-related decline: a noticeably reduced work schedule, fewer public appearances, and more rambling, profanity-laden outbursts. The panel examines how this undermines Trump’s self-styled image of strength and vigor, what lessons about aging Presidents can be drawn from the Biden and Reagan Administrations, and why America may be facing what scholars refer to as the “Bad Emperor” problem in Chinese history. “When strongmen get weak, watch out,” the staff writer Jane Mayer says.

This week’s reading:

“War Is Peace, the Dozing Don Edition,” by Susan B. Glasser
“The Dishonorable Strikes on Venezuelan Boats,” by Ruth Marcus
“Mikie Sherrill Intends to Move Fast,” by Gabriel Debenedetti
“The Undermining of the C.D.C.,” by Dhruv Khullar
“The Legal Consequences of Pete Hegseth’s ‘Kill Them All’ Order,” by Isaac Chotiner
“In the Line of Fire,” by Benjamin Wallace-Wells
“What Can Economists Agree on These Days? ” by John Cassidy

The Political Scene draws on the reporting and analysis found in The New Yorker for lively conversations about the big questions in American politics. Join the magazine’s writers and editors as they put into context the latest news—about elections, the economy, the White House, the Supreme Court, and much more. New episodes are available three times a week.

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Transcript

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0:00.0	Well, it is the first big snow of the season.
0:04.3	Washington looks fresh, magical, and new.
0:06.9	It's like an inch and a half.
0:08.0	I am a fan of snow.
0:09.9	I'm going to just put that out there.
0:11.2	I know it's controversial in D.C., especially, but I love snow.
0:14.8	This morning in our house, I have never seen more sorrow than the discovery of snow on the ground, but no snow day.
0:23.0	That is a cruel fate indeed.
0:25.4	They were like, these people.
0:26.2	I suppose you don't serve hot chocolate either, do you?
0:28.2	Well, I tried, but there was a rending of PJs, a pulling of hair.
0:32.8	And they really lost control.
0:35.8	I don't want to point fingers, but my children were set.
0:40.2	That's it.
0:41.0	Well, this is all about expectations, it turns out.
0:43.5	Well, they need to get organized.
0:45.5	In your household, we expect political organizing.
0:49.0	They need to get on the weather service and on the local schools.
0:52.5	They're going to take control of the means of communication, a swift overnight strike.
0:56.1	They're going to, if they get a hold of my text messages, if you see any conspicuous spelling errors,
1:01.0	you know that they've seized the devices.
1:06.6	Welcome to the political scene from the New Yorker, a weekly discussion about the big questions
	...

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