Hello and welcome to Background Briefing, available at 24-7 at background briefing. I'm Ian Masters,

and today we'll examine a number of stories and issues in the news.

We'll begin with Trump's vice-presidential pick J.D. Vance in the limelight at the Republican Convention on Day 3, which is focused on foreign policy and investigate Vance's foreign

policy views and the extent to which his isolationism and belief that Putin does not represent an existential

threat to Europe will buttress Trump's pro-Puton stance and be fatal for Ukraine if they are elected.

Joining us is Joshua Schifrensen, a professor at the Center for International Security Studies at the University of Maryland.

His research focuses on U.S. Grand Strategy, the durability of NATO,

U.S. relations with its allies during and after the Cold War, and the rise of China.

The author of Rising Titans, Falling Giants, How Great Powers Exploits, We'll discuss the influence

of the billionaire tech bros on our foreign policy since Vance's mentor Teal and Musk appear to support

Putin while making billions out of government defense contracts.

Then with the Trump-Fance ticket, a combination of a grifter and a troll,

we will speak with Joe Connison, the editor-in-chief of the National Memo,

a daily political newsletter, and a senior fellow at Type Media Center.

His articles have appeared in many publications around the world,

and he was executive editor of the New York Observer and a staff writer at the Village Voice.

He's the author of The Hunting of the President and Big Lies, and his latest books just out is The Longest Con, How Grifters, Swindlers and frauds hijacked American conservatism.

With the sugar daddy of the incarcerated grifter Steve Bannon, a Chinese fraudster with

murky ties to Chinese intelligence, sentenced today for a billion-dollar rip-off,

we look into the book which tracks 75 years of right-wing conmen,

quacks, and charlatans, who have made money attacking liberals,

while influencing the wider political landscape, moving the country to the right.

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