No, The Supreme Court Didn’t Make Trump Unilaterally More Powerful
Left, Right & Center
KCRW
3.9 • 5K Ratings
🗓️ 3 July 2026
⏱️ 52 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
The Supreme Court finished its term with some pre-July 4th fireworks by issuing decisions that continue to shape the powers of the presidency. But how solid is this narrative out there that Trump benefits from a conservative-leaning court?
The justices also loosened the leash for how much the parties can coordinate with and help fund congressional candidates. We look at what impact this could have for Republicans and Democrats, as well as the influence of big money in politics.
Producer: Leo Duran
Host: David Greene
Guests:
- Mo Elleithee, executive director at Georgetown University's Institute of Politics and Public Service - @MoElleithee
- Sarah Isgur, senior editor at The Dispatch - @whignewtons
Transcript
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| 1:03.9 | Welcome to another left, right and center, everybody. I'm David Green. Well, the Supreme Court has |
| 1:07.8 | wrapped up another term. The justices are on their way to vacation. I'm sure they have signed each other's yearbooks. You know, have a great summer and all of that. And depending on who you listen to, they have, before leaving, completely redefined the power of the executive branch. Maybe they have expanded its powers. Maybe they've reined it in, or maybe as with so much in our democracy, |
| 1:29.1 | there's nuance in all this. And we're going to try and dig into that today. When we look back at |
| 1:33.0 | the decisions from cases that this court heard over this past term, what is the story of this court |
| 1:38.3 | and the justices? And from executive power to our elections, what course are they helping to chart |
| 1:43.3 | for our country? |
| 1:44.8 | Moa Lathie is here on the left. Sarah Isger is here on the right. And Sarah, were you really having |
| 1:48.7 | Supreme Court stress dreams or is that just something that you said on social media? |
| 1:53.6 | Oh, no. I had a dream that Justice Kagan had invited me over to her house for like a very |
| 1:59.3 | casual cocktail party. And then at the end, she hands out party favors. |
... |
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