Welcome to Begg to Differ, the Bullworks' weekly roundtable discussion featuring civil

conversation across the political spectrum.

We range from center left to center right, I'm Mona Charence, indicated columnist and

policy editor at the Bullwork, and I'm joined by our regulars Bill Galston of the Brookings

Institution in the Wall Street Journal, Damon Linker, who writes the sub-stack newsletter

notes from the middle ground, and Linda Chavez of the Niskenan Center.

Our special guest this week is columnist and former editor at USA Today, Jill Lawrence.

Welcome one and all, I also want to express my thanks to Sunny Bunch for sitting in for

me last week.

It is good to be back, and this is the week that brought the expected, but until this week

not certain announcement by President Biden that he is indeed seeking a second term

using the slogan debuted at the State of the Union address, let's finish the job.

I'm going to start with you, Jill Lawrence, teeing it up this way.

The RNC released a response video to the president's announcement, depicting the dystopian world

that we can expect if Biden is reelected.

One in which China immediately invades Taiwan, banks shut their doors, the border is

overrun, and San Francisco has to declare martial law to cope with out of control of crime.

So what do you make of all of it, and welcome.

Well, thank you, Mona, it's good to be back.

As far as the RNC response, so much of what Republicans are saying these days feels like

looking in a fun house mirror, the idea that China would immediately invade Taiwan when

Republicans are the party of at least division on Ukraine, it doesn't make sense, and none

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