Trump, National Power, Freedom Abroad (with guest Elliott Abrams)

On this episode of Domino Theory, co-hosts Christian Whiton and Mark Simon speak with Elliott Abrams about human rights in a notional Trump II administration. Abrams was as senior official in the Trump, Bush, and Reagan administrations. How did human rights become a woke progressive crusade, including against our allies, and how can a potentially reelected Trump and his top people bring it back to being a tool of unapologetic national power? We also throw around ideas for negotiating with governments like those of China and Russia, which is necessary, while still pressing human rights. BONUS: How the KGB got the attention of Tehran and its hostage-taking puppets in Lebanon.

00:00 How human rights went woke
04:00 Where to start de-Carterizing
07:45 Failure of Arab Spring
09:42 Egypt and Saudi governments are legitimate
15:30 High-information electorate’s impact
19:45 Talk to dictators, but raise human rights
23:55 Americans have gotten wise to Chicoms
29:00 Do democracy orgs still work?
35:50 Why do we allow Iran to threaten assassination?
40:10 Kicking kids of Chinese and Iranian elite out of US schools
44:20 How the KGB dealt with Iranian hostage-takers