Like the weather, race for US president heats up

In the heat of the American summer, presidential candidates are focused on the dead of winter. That’s when the primaries start, just six short months from now. It’s a crowded Republican field and it’s becoming clear that culture wars will be front and center. Florida Governor Ron DeSantis is still waging his battle against “wokeness,” and his latest legislation raises race to a whole new and shocking level, including requiring school children to be taught that slavery equipped slaves with beneficial personal skills. On the Democrat side, there’s Robert F. Kennedy Jr, using his name to spread Covid conspiracy theories and hoping to challenge his own party’s president for the nomination. RFK’s campaign – much like Donald Trump’s – is an undeniable manifestation of a post-pandemic conspiracy-laden political landscape, according to journalist Rebecca Traister, who has just profiled Kennedy for New York Magazine. She joins the show alongside political strategist Joe Trippi.

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