Very Normal, Sir: Trump's Canadian and Iranian Quagmires (Half the Answer #101, with Greg Sargent)

Trump's unprovoked trade war with Canada and his chaotic attacks on Iran have him hemorrhaging support.

Caitlin M. Green, Trent R. Nelson, Greg Sargent Sep 3, 2026

Very Normal, Sir: Trump's Canadian and Iranian Quagmires (Half the Answer #101, with Greg Sargent)

Donald Trump's unprovoked trade war with Canada and his chaotic attacks on Iran have him hemorrhaging support in states he won in 2024. Why doesn't he seem to care? What is he thinking? We can't read minds, but we can talk to Greg Sargent from the New Republic about Trump's statements, posts, and actions over the last month or so.

Half the Answer can be heard on Spotify, on Apple, on YouTube, on Amazon, and elsewhere via its RSS feed.

Resources

https://newrepublic.com
https://bsky.app/profile/gregsargent.bsky.social
https://newrepublic.com/article/214669/trump-canada-trade-war-backfiring
https://newrepublic.com/article/214682/transcript-krugman-trump-reveals-deep-contempt-maga-voters
https://newrepublic.com/article/214748/transcript-trump-fury-canada-already-backfiring-badly

Published in: Half the Answer, Podcasts

Authors

Caitlin Green is a linguist specializing in Discourse Studies and Pragmatics. She lives in California with her husband, two daughters, and a very small black cat.

View articles

Trent R. Nelson is a poet, historian, and philosopher, as well as a political and socioeconomic analyst. He is the managing editor for MWF Springfield and a contributing editor with Liberal Currents.

View articles