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Republicans and Democrats are more divided than ever
Amid deep polarization and a Congress paralyzed by dysfunction, America feels less governed by policy than by tribal warfare. How did we get here? Former GOP fundraiser Steven Law joins Ian Bremmer on GZERO World to talk about the state of US politics, the upcoming midterm elections, and the intense partisanship in Washington driven by the highly-polarized bases of both parties. As the government shutdown drags on, is there any hope for meaningful compromise?
According to Law, the political reality is Democrats and Republicans are mistrustful of the other side and both bases “want a fight.” While the American public writ large would probably like to see the temperature lowered in DC, neither party seems willing to work with the other side to keep the government running. Republicans are united behind President Trump, but that hasn't prevented a federal shutdown. Democrats are struggling to define what they stand for. With so much chaos and fighting on Capitol Hill, can their messages break through or is the political system broken beyond repair?
“People look at Washington and they look at politics with just derision and what they see is a completely dysfunctional broken system,” Law tells Bremmer, “Congress can't even pass bills to spend money. I mean, that's just how bad it's gotten.”
New digital episodes of GZERO World are released every Monday on YouTube.Don't miss an episode: subscribe to GZERO's YouTube channel and turn on notifications (🔔). GZERO World with Ian Bremmer airs on US public television weekly - check local listings.
The politics of polarization in America, with Steven Law
Public disgust with Washington is growing as the government shutdown continues, with both Democrats and Republicans seemingly unwilling to compromise. Is the American political system broken beyond repair? Former GOP fundraiser and chief of staff for Mitch McConnell, Steven Law, joins Ian Bremmer on the GZERO World Podcast to discuss the state of America’s political parties ahead of a pivotal midterm election year.
While Congress seems more polarized and divided than ever, Law believes that the American public writ large wants leaders who are constructive and unifying, even as they’re prosecuting a strong agenda. But exactly what that agenda is, is what’s unclear. According to Law, the GOP has become the party of President Trump while the Democrats are experiencing an identity crisis and period of “massive redefinition.” What should parties focus on ahead of next year’s midterms? Can either side break through the deep polarization in DC to deliver a message that resonates with voters?
“Both bases want to fight. They are mistrustful of the other side,” Law says, “There's going to be a dividend that the voters will pay to a public leader who stands up and says, we just need to turn the temperature down here.”
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The state of America's political parties
What is going on with the Democratic Party? President Trump says they’ve “gone crazy” and even Democratic leaders are unsure of what they do (or don’t) stand for. On Ian Explains, Ian Bremmer breaks down the current state of America’s political parties. With the midterms just about a year away, Republicans need to show voters they can overcome Washington gridlock and Democrats need to prove they are more than just the party of “anti-Trump.”
While President Trump’s approval ratings may have slipped in recent months, especially with young voters, Republicans are united behind him. Yet Democrats can’t agree on what they stand for. Should they move to the center or further to the left? Should they focus on the economy or double-down on social issues that matter to the base? If Dems can’t find a message (or understand how to deliver it), it’s going to be an uphill battle. Trump, for all his foibles, knows how to control the narrative.
GZERO World with Ian Bremmer, the award-winning weekly global affairs series, airs nationwide on US public television stations (check local listings).
New digital episodes of GZERO World are released every Monday on YouTube. Don't miss an episode: subscribe to GZERO's YouTube channel and turn on notifications (🔔). GZERO World with Ian Bremmer airs on US public television weekly - check local listings.
Is the US Intelligence community at a breaking point?
With Congress slowing down during the summer recess and President Trump fresh off some major victories—from a joint US-Israeli strikes on Iran’s nuclear infrastructure to pushing through a massive tax and spending bill—Ian Bremmer heads to Capitol Hill to hear how Democrats are responding on the latest episode of GZERO World. Senator Mark Warner, who chairs the Senate Intelligence Committee, is sounding the alarm about a deeper crisis: an intelligence system being weaponized for politics. “Analysts are being told to change their conclusions—or lose their jobs,” he says. “We’re in uncharted, dangerous territory.”
Finally, Warner spotlights a crisis few in Washington are talking about: Sudan. “More people die there every day than in Gaza and Ukraine combined,” he says. If Trump leverages his ties to the Saudis and UAE to stop funding the war, Warner believes it could be a rare and meaningful win.
GZERO World with Ian Bremmer, the award-winning weekly global affairs series, airs nationwide on US public television stations (check local listings).
New digital episodes of GZERO World are released every Monday on YouTube. Don't miss an episode: subscribe to GZERO's YouTube channel and turn on notifications (🔔).
Spy games and loyalty tests with Senator Mark Warner
It’s been a banner stretch for President Trump: a major strike on Iran’s nuclear sites, a sprawling tax-and-spending bill pushed through Congress, and a growing foreign policy resume. But beneath the surface of all the flag-waving and victory laps, Democrats like Senator Mark Warner are warning that the real story is unfolding in the shadows—inside an increasingly politicized US intelligence community.
In this episode of the GZERO World podcast, Ian Bremmer sits down with the senior Senator from Virginia at his Capitol Hill office for a wide-ranging conversation about what’s breaking inside America’s national security institutions—and what that means for foreign policy decisions from Tehran to Gaza. Warner doesn’t hold back: “We’re in uncharted, dangerous territory. [Intelligence] Analysts are being told to change their conclusions—or lose their jobs.”
The two also dive into the fallout from the US-Israeli strikes on Iran, the fragile push for a Gaza ceasefire, and why Warner sees a largely ignored civil war in Sudan as one of the world’s worst ongoing humanitarian crises—and a rare opportunity for the US to lead.
Subscribe to the GZERO World Podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, or your preferred podcast platform, to receive new episodes as soon as they're published
President Trump has launched a revolution. Will it succeed?
President Donald Trump calls himself a revolutionary—and I actually agree with him. His second term has ushered in sweeping attempts to expand executive power and defang oversight institutions. Congress has rolled over. The DOJ? Under pressure. The only remaining institutional check appears to be the courts—especially the lower ones. So far, federal judges across the country, including some Trump appointees, have pushed back on illegal overreach. As has the Supreme Court on some high profile immigration and trade cases. But what happens when Trump gets tired of losing in court?
GZERO World with Ian Bremmer, the award-winning weekly global affairs series, airs nationwide on US public television stations (check local listings).
New digital episodes of GZERO World are released every Monday on YouTube. Don't miss an episode: subscribe to GZERO's YouTube channel and turn on notifications (🔔).
A man, draped in a version of the Israeli flag, stations himself outside the Capital Jewish Museum, after two Israeli embassy staff were shot dead there, in Washington, D.C., USA, on May 21, 2025.
HARD NUMBERS: Two Israelis murdered in Washington, Arms race for AI talent, & more
2: An Israeli couple who work at their country’s embassy in Washington, D.C., were shot and killed last night outside the Capital Jewish Museum by a gunman who reportedly chanted “free, free Palestine,” after he shot and killed them. Yaron Lischinsky and Sarah Lynn Milgrim were identified as the two people murdered. A 31-year-old suspect is in custody.
$20 million: Google DeepMind is offering artificial intelligence researchers $20 million of compensation per year in a bid to attract the top talent, amid an industry-wide battle for top talent. OpenAI and SSI are also offering eight-figure salary packages, and company leaders are personally courting top talent. If they need a hand, Nick Saban is available.
8: Mahmoud Abbas, the longtime chairman of the Palestine Liberation Organization, visited Lebanon on Wednesday for the first time in 8 years. He met with Lebanese President Joseph Aoun, as the two leaders called for the disarming of armed groups that operate in Palestinian refugee camps.
75: US Rep. Gerry Connolly (D-VA), who was serving his ninth term in Congress, died Wednesday morning at the age of 75. The former congressional staffer oversaw his district’s transformation from a sleepy suburban area on the outskirts of D.C. into a booming tech hub. His passing means there are now three vacancies in Democratic-leaning House seats, and gives US Speaker Mike Johnson a little breathing room as he prepares to pass the “Big Beautiful Bill.”
$245 million: Former Democratic Republic of Congo Prime Minister Augustin Matata Ponyo was found guilty of embezzling $245 million inpublic funds, and sentenced to a decade of hard labor. Matata, who was prime minister from 2012 to 2016, had received praise from the International Monetary Fund for stabilizing the Congolese economy.
4,268: If you don’t have anything rice to say, don’t say it. Japanese Farm Minister Taku Eto resigned Wednesday after he declared over the weekend that he never has to buy rice because his supporters give him the staple grain free of charge. The comments didn’t land well with the public, in large part because rice prices have ballooned to 4,268 yen ($29.63) for a five-kilogram bag, a record.
President Donald Trump holds a "Foreign Trade Barriers" document as he delivers remarks on tariffs in the Rose Garden at the White House on April 2, 2025.
Trump’s tariffs spark market chaos, risk political backlash
Donald Trump’s much-anticipated “liberation day” tariff announcement on Wednesday is the biggest disruption to global trade in decades, so the political, diplomatic, and economic impacts will take time to become clear.
In a dramatic unveiling in the Rose Garden, Trump set in place tariffs of at least 10% on most US trading partners, which set off a global sell-off of stocks, a rebellion from some Republicans, and angry rebukes from shocked trading partners.
It is hard to game out what will happen next because it has been so long since a shock on this scale hit the global tradition system. “We’re literally going back 100 years for historical precedents, and I’m not sure that there is an economic precedent of a policy-driven change of this magnitude in this direction,” says Eurasia Group senior analyst Graeme Thompson.
Trump’s new policy will make it more expensive for Americans to buy products from most countries, which investors fear will lead to a dramatic global economic slowdown and drive up inflation. Trump’s stated goal for the new policy is to stop foreign countries from taking advantage of the United States and boost American manufacturing, but observers and analysts are almost universally united in skepticism around the “golden age” that he promises they will bring.
Because the results are hitting investors and will soon hit the pocketbooks of consumers, there will be growing pressure on Republicans in the House and Senate to force Trump to change course. Until now, Trump’s popularity with his electoral base has kept them in line, but this new policy may put that under strain. Four senators voted with the Democrats in a (likely only symbolic) vote against Canadian tariffs late Wednesday, an acknowledgment that Republicans could face political blowback in the midterms for these widespread duties.
The political reaction is taking place before other countries have even put in place retaliatory measures, which can be expected to damage American exports. The greatest downside is unpredictability.
“I think what is hitting investors globally at this point is that uncertainty,” says Thompson.
“If you just came in and said, very clearly, ‘This is what’s happening, end of story,’ I think a lot of companies wouldn’t be happy, but they could work with it, but that’s not the story that we’ve got right now.”
It’s hard to see anything positive in the reactions from markets in the short term, and the political and diplomatic reaction in the United States and abroad is likely to test the strength of Trump’s support.