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Interesting Times with Ross Douthat

Does Trump Have an Iran Strategy?

Interesting Times with Ross Douthat

New York Times Opinion

New York Times, Journalism, News, Society & Culture, Ross Douthat

4.07.2K Ratings

🗓️ 9 January 2020

⏱️ 42 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

After an American drone strike killed Maj. Gen. Qassim Suleimani of Iran and heightened tensions in the Middle East, does President Trump have a plan for what comes next? The columnists discuss the nightmare phase of the Trump presidency, an ominous turn in modern international conflict, and the potential for relative stability. Then, the political scientist Lee Drutman joins the columnists to make the case for how America can and should move past its two-party political system. And Ross visits a pet store with a pro-family policy. For background reading on this episode, visit nytimes.com/theargument.

Transcript

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0:00.0

I'm Michelle Goldberg.

0:01.4

I'm Ross Dathard.

0:02.8

I'm David Lee and Hart, and this is the argument.

0:10.0

This week, what is Trump's strategy for a wrong?

0:13.2

The killing of Soleimani into an admission

0:15.6

that this campaign of punishing sanctions, that is failed.

0:20.1

Then, could America really say goodbye to the two-party system?

0:24.5

A guest makes the case that we can and should.

0:28.0

I think the greatest threat to our democracy right now

0:31.4

is the hyperpartisanship.

0:33.4

And finally, a recommendation.

0:35.9

The sleek, corporate hamster stores

0:39.2

separate their male and female hamsters.

0:42.0

But the funkier, mom and pop pet stores do not.

0:53.6

Last week's killing of Iranian general Kasim Soleimani

0:56.8

has sparked the most serious foreign conflict

0:58.9

of the Trump presidency.

1:00.5

Iran is responded by announcing the ramping up

1:02.7

of its nuclear program and by promising reprisal attacks

1:06.2

against the United States.

1:08.1

We're going to start by trying to make sense

1:09.6

of what Trump is trying to do here.

...

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