President Donald Trump marked his 100th day in office on Saturday - what have we learned and what does it mean for his remaining days in office?; as the WGA deadline approaches, we discuss the likelihood of a strike; after massive layoffs at ESPN, we discuss the future of its business model; and more.
AirTalk Politics: Trump’s 100th day, bipartisan funding bill, ACA repeal update
Legislators on Capitol Hill were able to reach a bipartisan agreement to avoid a full government shutdown and keep the lights on in D.C. until September.
Highlights from the bill include $12.5 billion in new military spending and another $1.5 billion for border security. Equally as notable is what’s not in the bill, namely funding for President Trump’s proposed border wall between the U.S. and Mexico. The President also made news over the weekend for pushing for a House vote this week on a revised plan to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act as well as his call to the controversial Filipino president, Rodrigo Duterte, inviting him to the White House.
Also, President Donald Trump marked his 100th day in office on Saturday, a presidential benchmark the significance of which has been debated ad-infinitum in recent weeks. He’s given interviews touting what he says are historic accomplishments for the start of an administration. But he also revealed the job is far tougher than he anticipated.
In Trump’s win column is the confirmation of Neil Gorsuch as his Supreme Court nominee. There’s also been a dramatic decline in illegal immigration since Trump’s win, even without a wall, beefed up Border Patrol, or huge increase in deportations. But other promised moves on immigration have been countered by federal judges. His travel moratorium and sanctuary cities defunding both shot down.The Affordable Care Act is still in place, with no Republican proposal reaching critical mass. The Administrative State he promised to slash, continues in DC.
What can we learn from the President’s first hundred days about what to expect for the remainder of his term?
Guests:
Charles Kesler, Dengler-Dykema Distinguished Professor of Government at Claremont McKenna College and editor of the Claremont Review of Books
Matt Rodriguez, Democratic strategist and founder and chief executive officer of Rodriguez Strategies. He is also a former senior Obama advisor in 2008; he tweets @RodStrategies
Weighing the environmental impact of new offshore oil and gas drilling in California
President Trump signed an executive order last week which could give the green light to new oil and gas drilling in the Pacific, Arctic and Atlantic Oceans.
As reported by the Los Angeles Times, this would potentially include California offshore drilling, a topic that’s sparked opposition from state leaders including Gov. Jerry Brown, Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) and Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom. In addition, the order could reverse an Obama Administration environmental plan to exclude any new drilling leases off the California and Alaska coast until 2022.
With an uphill political and legal battle ahead, how will Trump’s plan pan out, and what are the environmental risks?
Guests:
Rock Zierman, chief executive officer of the California Independent Petroleum Association (CIPA), a nonprofit trade association representing about 500 independent crude oil and natural gas agencies companies operating in California; CIPA members represent approximately 70% of total oil production and 90% of natural gas production in the state
David Helvarg, executive director of Blue Frontier, an ocean conservation and policy group; he is the author of the book, “The Golden Shore: California’s Love Affair with the Sea;” he tweets
WGA deadline: To strike or not to strike
Deadline for negotiations between the Writers Guild of America and the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers is midnight Monday.
AirTalk checks in with Deadline’s Dominic Patten on talks and the likelihood of a strike.
Guest:
Dominic Patten, senior editor and Chief TV Critic at the news and entertainment site, Deadline, who’s been following the negotiations
Forecasting the future of ESPN after company-wide layoffs
Sports journalism giant ESPN is gameplanning for its future this week after massive layoffs at ‘The Worldwide Leader’ last week saw the departure of several big-name on-air talents. ESPN President John Skipper released a statement addressing the layoffs and characterizing them as a symptom of an ever-evolving media landscape.
The reason? Well, that depends who you ask.
Some point to the ever-changing landscape of cord-cutters. The wide variety of streaming services available means consumers are watching TV in a lot of different ways, many of which don’t involve sitting down on a couch in front of a flat screen. Others say ESPN’s focus has drifted away from reporting on sports and into the realm of sensationalism, seeking to politicize every story rather than just reporting on it as a sports story, and that its core viewers are turning away as a result.
How did ESPN’s business model lead to last week’s layoffs? How are the network and its parent company, Disney, positioning themselves for the future?
Guests:
A Martinez, host of KPCC’s ‘Take Two’; he tweets
James Andrew Miller, journalist and author of several books; he is co-author of ‘Those Guys Have All The Fun: Inside the World of ESPN’ (Back Bay Books, 2011); he tweets