The Josh Hammer Report

Josh Hammer

Newsweek Senior Editor-at-Large And Host,
"The Josh Hammer Show"

What a freaking week. Wow.

The CNN presidential debate last Thursday was one of the wildest things I have ever seen in politics. How in the world did Joe Biden's inner-circle allow him to get up on stage like that? Who exactly thought that was a good idea? For 90 minutes straight, the putative leader of the free world struggled to coherently and cogently form a single sentence in the English language. Truly, I have never seen anything like that in my life. Many, many liberal pundits and Democratic leaders are now mounting a public, highly visible campaign to convince Joe and Jill "Lady Macbeth" Biden to step aside. There are multiple glaring problems with this. First, Democrats could not possibly give the reins to anyone other than cackler-in-chief Kamala Harris, who is even less popular than Biden. Second, even if they wanted to swap out Biden, it is not clear that they even can at this late stage. There are very, very steep—and perhaps insurmountable—campaign finance and election law hurdles. What a mess!

I unpack all of this in some of our recent episodes of "The Josh Hammer Show," including this morning's brand-new episode: a conversation with a veritable subject-matter expert, FEC Commissioner Trey Trainor.

Meanwhile, as if that weren't enough, the U.S. Supreme Court term also came to a dramatic conclusion over the past week. The biggest news of all is Donald Trump's victory in his presidential immunity case, Trump v. United States. I unpacked everything you need to know about that tremendous win in another recent episode of "The Josh Hammer Show." And the ramifications are already unfolding; in New York City, Justice Juan Merchan has delayed Trump's sentencing for his "hush money" ordeal until September 18 (it had been scheduled for July 11). Conservatives also won in other notable SCOTUS cases, including the Fischer case (involving the malicious prosecution of "J6-ers") and the long-overdue overturning of "Chevron deference" as an administrative law doctrine. But conservatives also lost some big cases, especially on Big Tech. I've got some thoughts on how to right the judicial nominations ship, which I explained in my most recent column.

To keep up with everything I'm doing, make sure to follow me on Twitter/X, Instagram, and Facebook. Incidentally, I'm delighted to be speaking at next week's National Conservatism Conference ("NatCon 4") in Washington, D.C.! Check out the NatCon 4 home page here to purchase your tickets if you have not already done so. I will also be speaking in Virginia next Thursday at Young America's Foundation's (YAF) National High School Leadership Conference, and will return to the nation's capital later in July for YAF's annual National Conservative Student Conference.

You can listen to all episodes of "The Josh Hammer Show" at the Newsweek website or on Apple, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts. (We're also on the radio in multiple markets!) I also have a second show, "America on Trial with Josh Hammer," with The First; you can subscribe and listen to the show on Apple, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts. Make sure to subscribe to both shows and leave your reviews! Make sure to also check out my new Subtext chat, which you can read all about and sign up for here. It's only $2.99/month to subscribe to this private chat.

Our highlighted Newsweek op-eds from the past week includes selections from former HUD Secretary Ben Carson, former Rep. Tim Huelskamp (R-Kans.), former Assistant Secretary of the Treasury Monica Crowley, Katya Sedgwick, and Jonathan Tobin.

We'll see you next week—though I frankly doubt it will be as crazy as this one!

Spotlight

ANDREW HARNIK/GETTY IMAGES

How Conservatives Can Finally Get Judicial Nominations Right

The current Supreme Court term is not quite over yet, but conservatives have already suffered notable defeats in cases involving Big Tech censorship and free speech, states' lawful ability to proscribe abortion, the ubiquity of the abortion pill (mifepristone), the constitutionality of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, the possibility of a future wealth tax, and taxpayer responsibility for Indian tribal health care. One might argue—though I probably would not—that the term's marquee gun case, involving firearm possession for those subject to domestic-violence restraining orders, went against conservative interests as well. It seems that more conservative losses could also be in store before the term is over.

Bear in mind this is the same Supreme Court the political Left and corporate media (but I repeat myself) have decried, for years now, as a purported den of far-right, authoritarian, "MAGA" iniquity. Worse, they allege the court is somehow "unethical" due to Justice Clarence Thomas having a wealthy friend in real estate magnate Harlan Crow, or Justice Samuel Alito's wife flying at the family beach house the same "Appeal to Heaven" flag that was first commissioned by George Washington himself and which flew outside San Francisco City Hall for 60 years. For two years in a row, they have assailed the court's legitimacy in a sprawling media disinformation operation.

The Left thus gets the best of both worlds. Progressives are able to generate publicity and rake in fundraising dollars with their recurring temper tantrums about the court's ostensible threat to "our democracy," while on the other hand they reap the rewards of a court that delivers them substantive victories far more often than either side would care to acknowledge.

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