He's his old guy from Queens whose racial attitudes are frozen in the 1970s.

That part of him has never changed and won't.

And so when the occasion presents itself, that part of it is going to come out, because that's who he is.

This guy is Mario Prokachino gone national.

There's a reference for the older viewers.

Welcome to Begg to Differ of the Bullworks weekly roundtable discussion featuring civil conversation across the political spectrum from center left and center right.

I'm Amy Stoddard, columnist The Bullwerk, and I am joined this week by our regulars.

We have Bill Golgols from the Brookings Institution in the Wall Street Journal, Damon Linker, who writes

for the sub-stack newsletter, notes from the middle ground, and Linda Chavez of the Niskanin Center.

I am sitting in for Mona Charen who's enjoying vacation and it's very busy news cycle.

She'll be back next week.

We had a guest, the lovely Jonathan Allen of NBC News, but with technical

difficulties we lost him. So we are going to have a rowdy roundtable, just the four of us.

It's good to be back with you guys. Last time I saw you we were in the before times,

which was before Biden dropped out of the presidential election.

And I want to start on another light note which is that today we saw the release from

Russian prison Evan Gershkovich of the Wall Street Journal and Paul Whelan, who's been held there for more than six years,

is, according to the Wall Street Journal, the largest E-Swap prison swap since the Cold War,

and its cause for great celebration and elation.

So that is an amazing development.

Sadly, Alexi Nervoni was supposed to be part of this swap which is the culmination of months and

months and months of what Jake Sullivan characterized as the most complicated exchange in history.

...