The Mona Charen Show

Elon Musk’s DOGE promised to slash government waste, but its reckless cuts may have cost taxpayers more than $160 billion while gutting essential services. Mona Charen talks with Max Stier of the Partnership for Public Service about the lasting damage, the staggering incompetence behind it, and why Trump’s real goal may have had nothing to do with saving money.

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Francis Fukuyama used to dismiss the most alarming warnings about artificial intelligence. Not anymore. He joins Mona Charen to explain what changed his mind, from AI systems acting beyond human control to the threat of mass job displacement, and why Trump’s hands-off approach could leave America dangerously exposed.

David Frum joins Mona Charen to discuss Trump’s cozy relationship with Putin, the absurdity of his Russian diesel deal, and the damage he’s doing to America’s standing in the world. They also discuss why Wall Street considers the U.S. a riskier borrower than Greece, the failure of Trump’s deadly drug boat strikes, and what it will take to repair the damage after Trump.

Susan Glasser joins Mona Charen to examine the advisers who failed to challenge Trump on his disastrous war in Iran, Pete Hegseth’s potential reckoning before Congress, the stunning collapse in Trump’s hardcore support, and whether Democrats are headed for a historic midterm victory.

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Mona Charen and Will Saletan discuss the GOP’s disastrous attempt to ambush Jack Smith, the political warning signs pushing Republicans away from Trump, and what Democrats should actually do if they win Congress. Plus, would impeaching Trump again hold him accountable—or accidentally give JD Vance exactly the opening he needs?

Bulwark Book Club pick for October: Jon Grinspan’s ‘The Age of Acrimony: How Americans Fought to Fix Their Democracy, 1865–1915.’ Mona Charen and JVL will discuss the book with the author LIVE with Bulwark+ members on Wednesday, Oct. 28 at 1:30 p.m. ET. Send your questions, comments and thoughts to them on the book through this post: https://www.youtube.com/post/Ugkxd2uInylq-1yUJoDeKNd3qLYNJa4GDVjf

Mona Charen talks with Casey Revkin of Each Step Home about what happens to children and families caught inside the immigration detention system, including U.S.-citizen kids separated from their parents, postpartum mothers separated from infants, and families detained after showing up for routine ICE appointments. Revkin also explains how her group gets food, water, medicine, and other basic necessities to families being held at the Dilley detention center.

Each Step Home: https://eachstephome.org/

ProPublica: More Than 170 U.S. Citizens Have Been Held by Immigration Agents: https://www.propublica.org/article/immigration-dhs-american-citizens-arrested-detained-against-will

Washington Post: She’s Feeding Hundreds of Kids in ICE Detention Using Commissary Accounts: https://www.washingtonpost.com/immigration/2026/09/02/california-mom-sends-10000-week-buy-food-kids-ice-detention/

Texas Immigration Law Council: https://txilc.org/

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Bulwark Book Club pick for October: Jon Grinspan’s ‘The Age of Acrimony: How Americans Fought to Fix Their Democracy, 1865–1915.’ Mona Charen and JVL will discuss the book with the author LIVE with Bulwark+ members on Wednesday, Oct. 28 at 1:30 p.m. ET. Send your questions, comments and thoughts to them on the book through this post: http://youtube.com/post/Ugkxd2uInylq-1yUJoDeKNd3qLYNJa4GDVjf?si=Fy14pgN9erXZk9Sb

Mona Charen is joined by Sonny Bunch to talk about The Odyssey for the September edition of The Bulwark Book Club with viewers. Mona and Sonny read Emily Wilson’s translation–the first English translation by a woman–and discuss the differences between the epic poem and Christopher Nolan’s recent film adaptation.

Show notes
Read Sonny Bunch’s review of The Odyssey film here.
https://www.thebulwark.com/p/the-odyssey-review

Get The Odyssey original motion picture soundtrack by Ludwig Göransson vinyl set
https://madebymutant.com/products/the-odyssey-original-motion-picture-soundtrack

Mona Charen talks with Adam Isacson and John Walsh of the Washington Office on Latin America about Operation Southern Spear, the Trump administration’s deadly strikes on suspected drug-smuggling boats, and the secret legal theory being used to justify them. They examine the killing of survivors in a second strike, Pete Hegseth’s purge of military lawyers, the evidence that the campaign hasn’t reduced the cocaine supply, and why U.S. allies are increasingly wary of sharing intelligence that could be used in the strikes.

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Further reading:

WOLA — Killing Spree: Extrajudicial Executions in the U.S. Boat Strikes Campaign
https://www.wola.org/analysis/killing-spree-extrajudicial-executions-in-the-u-s-boat-strikes-campaign/

The Washington Post — Deadly U.S. boat strikes have failed to curb cocaine supply, Pentagon and DEA officials say
https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2026/07/27/operation-southern-spear-has-not-slowed-cocaine-entering-us/

Reuters — We bought everything needed to make $3 million worth of fentanyl. All it took was $3,600.
https://www.reuters.com/investigations/we-bought-everything-needed-make-3-million-worth-fentanyl-all-it-took-was-3600-2024-07-25/

Mona Charen is joined by Bill Galston, Linda Chavez, and Damon Linker for a "Beg to Differ" reunion! They discuss the Trump administration’s foreign policy and corruption, America’s standing in the world, Israel and Gaza, antisemitism, the Democratic Party’s internal battles over the DSA, and the political significance of upcoming races in Pennsylvania and Michigan. Plus: recommendations for books and TV shows.

Mona Charen speaks with former CIA officer Julie Curlee about her two decades in intelligence, her removal from the Trump White House, and what she describes as the dangerous erosion of expertise and nonpartisan analysis across the national security apparatus. They examine intelligence politicization, Iran and Venezuela, and why Curlee believes the loss of experienced public servants could take a generation to repair.

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If you value long-form interviews that resist the rush to the next topic and give deeply knowledgeable guests room to explain not just what is happening but why it matters, consider becoming a paid member of The Bulwark. Your support gives us the freedom to keep making conversations with this kind of depth.

Mona Charen and Will Saletan discuss the fallout from Trump’s Iran war, his attacks on America’s allies, growing trouble for Republicans ahead of the midterms, and the Democratic message that could capitalize on MAGA’s failures.

Mona Charen is joined by Bill Kristol to discuss Mark Twain’s Pudd’nhead Wilson for the August edition of The Bulwark Book Club with viewers. Published in 1894, the novel tells the story of two boys—one born into slavery, the other the master’s son—who were switched in the cradle. They’ll discuss how the book relates to our world today, and whether Mark Twain is more relevant than ever.

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Lt. Gen. Mark Hertling (Ret.) joins Mona Charen for a conversation about why character still matters in leadership, how America lost many of the institutions that once helped build it, and what the military can teach about integrity, responsibility, and moral courage in an era of political double standards.

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Programming note: This Wednesday! Join us for the next edition of The Bulwark Book Club. Mona Charen and Bill Kristol will discuss Mark Twain’s Pudd’nhead Wilson with you LIVE at 1:30 p.m. EDT. Drop your questions, comments, and thoughts on the book in the comments of this post.
Published in 1894, the novel tells the story of two boys–one born into slavery, the other the master’s son–who were switched at birth.

Watch your inbox for a link on Wednesday to watch the show.

Mona Charen speaks with The Atlantic’s Idrees Kahloon about how Trump’s immigration, university, trade, fiscal, and foreign-policy agenda could weaken the foundations of long-term American prosperity and global influence. They also discuss China, alliances, executive power, political corruption, and Kahloon’s reconsideration of campaign-finance reform in an era of small-donor-driven extremism and weakened political parties.

Trump’s Anti-Growth AgendaBy Idrees Kahloon

Thomas Edsall tells Mona Charen Democrats can recover from Trump's bad ratings by moderating on three fronts: transgender policy (affirm two sexes, restrict sports/prisons/youth surgery), immigration (pro-legal, pro-enforcement), and crime (oppose lenient DAs and no-bail policies).

His diagnosis: the party's become too elitist and needs working-class voters back to beat MAGA.

If the Democrats Actually Want to Win, This Is What They Have to Do

Mona Charen and Eric Edelman examine how Trump stumbled into the Iran war without a clear plan, alienated allies, strengthened Tehran's position, and left the United States looking weaker.

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Links mentioned in this episode:

Inside Israel’s Secret Operation to Cultivate Ahmadinejad
https://www.nytimes.com/2026/07/13/us/politics/israel-mahmoud-ahmadinejad-iran.html

US lacks scores of ambassadors in Africa
https://www.semafor.com/article/07/10/2026/us-lacks-scores-of-ambassadors-in-africa

Democrats swore they'd never do what Republicans did with Trump. Then came Graham Platner. Mona Charen and Will Saletan on the fake oysterman, the vetting failure, and the death of shame—plus Trump's World Cup meddling and the loss Mona says America needed.

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Mona Charen is joined by historian Lindsay Chervinsky—executive director of the George Washington Presidential Library—for the Bulwark Book Club, discussing her book Making the Presidency: John Adams and the Precedents That Forged the Republic. They cover Adams's besieged first days in office, a cabinet secretly loyal to Alexander Hamilton, the mob of 10,000 outside the president's house, the Alien and Sedition Acts, Hamilton's plot to change the rules of the election of 1800—and how Adams invented the peaceful transfer of power by simply going home.

Buy the book: https://www.amazon.com/Making-Presidency-Precedents-Forged-Republic/dp/0197653847

Mona Charen and FT columnist Ed Luce dig into Giorgia Meloni's public dressing down of Trump, the UK's political chaos, and the fallout from Trump's Iran war—including the case that the U.S. is now paying Iran reparations and Israel is boxed into an impossible corner. Plus: Luce's surreal Sunday phone calls with Trump himself.

Upcoming: Mona will interview presidential historian Lindsay Chervinsky about her book, Making the Presidency: John Adams and the Precedents That Forged the Republic.

Mona Charen welcomes military analyst Andrew Fox for a conversation on Trump’s Iran ceasefire, whether America squandered its leverage against Tehran, the growing influence of Qatar and Turkey, Israel’s military and political mistakes, Hamas’s strategy in Gaza, and the battle over public opinion that could shape the future of the Middle East.

show notes:

Bulwark Book Club: Mona will interview presidential historian Lindsay Chervinsky about her book, “Making the Presidency: John Adams and the Precedents That Forged the Republic.”