The Daily Beast

Photo Illustration by Thomas Levinson/The Daily Beast/GettyAs each election cycle seems to come with bigger consequences than the next, it’s no surprise each in turn is dubbed the most important election to date.Which is why it’s notable that the Republican Party has fielded a slate of such questionable candidates in recent cycles—ones The New Abnormal co-host Danielle Moodie said would be “catastrophic” for American democracy as we know it.“Every election we have known over the last several cycles is the most important election because of the kinds of candidates that the Republican party are putting up are extraordinarily detrimental, catastrophic to our democracy,” Moodie said.Read more at The Daily Beast.

Photo Illustration by Erin O’Flynn/The Daily Beast/Getty ImagesListen to this full episode of The New Abnormal on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon and Stitcher.For all of Donald Trump’s incessant fear-mongering about migrants fueling crime in the United States, he has yet to ask one very important question: What is driving the violence that is making so many on the other side of the border desperate to flee in the first place?That’s the question The New Abnormal team posed to Ieva Jusionyte, author of Exit Wounds: How America's Guns Fuel Violence across the Border, on this Sunday’s episode—and his answer might not sit well with team MAGA.Read more at The Daily Beast.

Photo Illustration by Thomas Levinson/The Daily Beast/GettyListen to this full episode of The New Abnormal on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon and Stitcher.Donald Trump’s inner circle is a revolving door of wild and wacky characters—and almost as interesting as the former president’s rapidly changing whims are the people he keeps around to carry them out.This week, The New Abnormal introduces you to a relatively new face in the pantheon of Trumpworld toadies: Steven Cheung, Trump’s principal spokesperson and de facto enforcer.Read more at The Daily Beast.

Photo Illustration by Thomas Levinson/The Daily Beast/GettyListen to this full episode of The New Abnormal on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon and Stitcher.Donald Trump on Monday released a video laying out his thoughts on abortion, claiming he wants it to be left up to the states instead of enacting a national abortion ban. And while the former president has previously been relatively vague on his abortion stance, The New Abnormal co-host Andy Levy says we should be cautious about cementing Trump’s position on the issue.“Take whatever he said and just throw it in the trash because he will do or say whatever he thinks is politically expedient,” Levy said, reminding listeners: “Remember this is Donald Trump that back in… 2016 during the primaries, said that women who got abortion should face some form of ‘punishment.’”Read more at The Daily Beast.

Photo Illustration by Elizabeth Brockway/The Daily Beast/GettyListen to this full episode of The New Abnormal on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon and Stitcher.With news that Donald Trump’s aides are vetting potential vice presidential candidates at Mar-a-Lago, The New Abnormal team is weighing in on who they believe he will pick to join him on the campaign trail.Co-host Andy Levy believes Trump will opt for style over substance and choose someone who might help make him look better.Read more at The Daily Beast.

Photo Illustration by The Daily Beast / Getty Listen to this full episode of The New Abnormal on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon and Stitcher.Former President Donald Trump has talked repeatedly about jailing his political opponents in recent weeks—including members of the House Select Committee investigating the Jan. 6, 2021 insurrection at the U.S. Capitol building.But from where The New Abnormal co-hosts Danielle Moodie and Andy Levy are sitting, nobody seems to be taking the threat seriously.Read more at The Daily Beast.

Bettmann Archive / GettyListen to this full episode of The New Abnormal on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon and Stitcher.Award-winning photographer Richard Frishman embarked on a 35,000-mile journey across the U.S. to capture America’s history of racism in an effort to show how these Ghosts of Segregation haunt us because they are still very much alive.Frishman partnered with sociologist Dr. B. Brian Foster, who contributed a series of essays about the shared history Black Americans have with racism. The pair told The New Abnormal’s co-host Danielle Moodie how they hope the book will be a resource for anyone who disputes America’s racist past.Read more at The Daily Beast.

Photo Illustration by The Daily Beast / GettyChuck Todd might be an unlikely candidate to cast shade—but over the weekend the former Meet the Press host proved he hasn’t lost his edge.On Sunday, Todd seemed more than a little pressed over NBC’s choice to hire former RNC chairwoman Ronna McDaniel as an on-air contributor. McDaniel made her first appearance since the announcement on Meet the Press, though the interview, moderator Kristen Welker disclosed, was booked weeks before her hiring.Todd, sitting on the analysis panel, let her—and the network—have it while live on air.Read more at The Daily Beast.

Photo Illustration by Luis G. Rendon/The Daily Beast/Getty/Fox NewsListen to this full episode of The New Abnormal on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon and Stitcher.On March 15, former Vice President Mike Pence dropped quite the bombshell to Martha MacCallum on Fox News: He would not be endorsing his former running mate, Donald Trump, to be president.Despite getting the scoop, Fox News gave the news just four minutes of coverage, according to Matt Gertz, senior fellow at Media Matters for America. That compares to CNN, which gave the story an hour and 19 minutes, and MSNBC, which spent an hour and 14 minutes covering the story.Read more at The Daily Beast.

Photo Illustration by Thomas Levinson/The Daily Beast/GettyListen to this full episode of The New Abnormal on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon and Stitcher.Donald Trump may generate daily headlines with his bombastic statements and myriad legal troubles, but of all the important 2024 election-related issues worth discussing there is one in particular that deserves highlighting, according to The New Abnormal co-host Andy Levy.The Trump campaign was in full damage control last week after the former president called in to CNBC and suggested making cuts from Medicare and Social Security, which offer financial care to retired Americans or those with a disability.Read more at The Daily Beast.