It's been a little more than a week since Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy met with President Donald Trump in the Oval Office. Vice President JD Vance was in the meeting too. And Secretary of State Marco Rubio, the nation's top diplomat, sat on an Oval Office couch, mostly silent, as Trump and Vance berated the Ukrainian leader. Along the way, the president and vice president made it clear just how much of the established global order they are ready to upend. An order that for most of his career, Rubio has defended, and worked to help hold up. So what changed ...and what do those changes mean? For sponsor-free episodes of Consider This, sign up for Consider This+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org. Email us at [email protected] more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy
Chapter 1: What is the current state of the Republican Party's alignment with Trump?
It's no secret that much, if not most, of the Republican Party is in lockstep with President Trump.
The golden age of America has only just begun. It will be like nothing that has ever been seen before. Thank you, God bless you, and God bless America.
We have seen members of the president's party fall in line over and over on a wide range of issues since Trump returned to office some six weeks ago. Sometimes that has meant compromising on issues and beliefs that had defined them for years.
Hi, Mr. Cassidy. Mr. Cassidy. Hi, Mr. Lankford.
That was Louisiana Senator Bill Cassidy, a doctor who had expressed concerns about vaccine resistance, voting for Trump's pick to head the Department of Health and Human Services, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. Kennedy has a long history of opposition to vaccines and chaired an anti-vaccine nonprofit called Children's Health Defense.
There's Iowa Senator and military veteran Joni Ernst, who has spent years advocating for women in the military and trying to raise awareness about sexual assault in the military.
I think for a number of our senators, they want to make sure that any allegations have been cleared. And that's why we have to have a very thorough vetting process.
Ernst was talking about Trump's pick for defense secretary, Pete Hegseth. Hegseth has been accused of sexual assault. His lawyer has called the claims false. and police never filed charges. And before he was nominated, Hegseth had argued against women in combat. He talked about it in a podcast hosted by Sean Ryan in November.
Because I'm straight up just saying we should not have women in combat roles. It hasn't made us more effective, hasn't made us more lethal, has made fighting more complicated.
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Chapter 2: Who are the key figures influencing America's foreign policy?
That's Daniel Dresner, professor of international politics at Tufts University. Thank you so much.
Thank you.
This episode was produced by Erica Ryan and Brianna Scott with audio engineering by Ted Meebane. It was edited by Courtney Dorning. Our executive producer is Sammy Yannigan. It's Consider This from NPR. I'm Scott Detrow.