Two political commentators recently visited the John F. Kennedy Jr. Forum at the Institute of Politics. Jon Favreau—a former speechwriter for Barack Obama and host of the podcast “Pod Save America”—and Scott Jennings—former special assistant to the president for political affairs in the George W. Bush Administration, current CNN correspondent, and a former Institute of Politics fellow—discussed their views on the government shutdown, the increase in political violence, the lack of trust in public media, and many other issues.
They approached each topic from their differing political perspectives, underscoring the divide in our national discourse today while demonstrating the need for open, constructive free speech. As Jennings noted, “It’s better for American discourse if we are not all isolated from views that may challenge ours. This is why this Forum is good, why the IOP is good.”
Nancy Gibbs, the director of the Shorenstein Center and the Edward R. Murrow Professor of Practice of Press, Politics and Public Policy, and Iris Chang, director of operations for the JFK Jr. Forum committee, moderated the conversation with Favreau. Setti D. Warren, the director of the Institute of Politics and adjunct lecturer in public policy, spoke with Jennings.
Shutting down the government
At the time of the Forum events, the United States was in the second day of a government shutdown. Both analysts discussed the event. Favreau saw the shutdown as inevitable for the Democrats. “Healthcare is a worthy issue for Democrats to make the shutdown about,” he said. “If their demands for an extension of the Affordable Care Act subsidies, and a reversal of the Medicaid cuts are met, it would absolutely make a difference in the lives of millions of people.”
“It’s better for American discourse if we are not all isolated from views that may challenge ours. This is why this Forum is good, why the IOP is good.”
Favreau also saw this as a moment for Democrats to stand up to policies from this administration that they find unacceptable. “I personally would not vote to fund a government that the president is using to go to war against half the country,” said Favreau. “There are ICE raids, tariffs that are most likely illegal, retribution against political enemies. The Republicans control the House, Senate, and White House, and if they would like to change the Senate rules and get rid of the filibuster to pass the budget, they are free to do that. I don’t see why Democrats should be giving them the votes for that.”
Jennings said he didn’t understand why “shutdown brinksmanship” was going on at all. “Democrats have voted for CRs [continuing resolutions] 13 times during the Biden years. The Obamacare subsidies don’t end until the end of the year and they could be negotiated,” he said. “The only tactical explanation is that they are responding to a base that is desperate to fight about anything. But I can tell you this, the Republicans are not letting any moment go to waste,” said Jennings.
“President Trump met with the OMB [Office of Management of Budget] director today about what government programs and offices and people to cut,” Jennings continued. “Part of the Democratic ploy is to try to trick the Republicans into ending the filibuster, which would be a disaster for our country and a disaster for bipartisanship.”
The increase of political violence
When asked about political violence in the country, Jennings acknowledged his friendship with Charlie Kirk and his utter shock at his assassination, a feeling that haunts him. “I am quite concerned that there are number of people in this country who have decided that for them, speech and debate have no meaning,” he said. “If any of us from either persuasion, liberal or conservative, are afraid that after we espouse our views someone will shoot us, the net effect will be we stop speaking.”
Favreau said that he is also shocked at recent political violence. As a podcaster with a public show, he said he now thinks about safety in a way that he never had before. And he also worries about losing our ability to have meaningful conversations without fear. “I don’t condone violence in any way,” he said, “but words are also violence.” He said everyone with a platform has an obligation to call out all forms of hate.
“It is important for leaders, people in public life—whether you are a politician, whether you are podcaster, whether you have any kind of following—to denounce violence. We do politics and we settle our disputes at the ballot box and not violently. That’s how civil wars start,” said Favreau.
The loss of trust in the media
The waning trust in American media outlets is a concern for both Favreau and Jennings. A recent Gallup Poll found trust at a new low of 28%. Both analysts see the media diet shifting for most people.
“Media is having a crisis of trust,” Jennings said. “They are also having a crisis of competition. You can get news from a lot of different places than you used to be able to.” Deciding where to get information is almost as important as the information you get, he said.
“We have a press that seems more interested in advocacy than journalism. And there’s nothing wrong with that; you just can’t pretend to be one and act like the other.” The way forward, he said, is to rethink the relationship with the audience. Ask hard questions. Embrace humility when things are wrong.
“The fact that everyone is not getting the same information lowers the trust because you never really know if what you hear is real or not.”
Favreau said the mistrust comes from the political moment we are in and rapid rise of mis- and disinformation. He pointed to the old journalistic phrase about sensationalism: “if it bleeds, it leads.” Fear and anger are powerful motivators for people, and, Favreau pointed out, the Trump movement found that works well.
“Stories that make people angry are always going to travel more,” said Favreau. “The social media algorithms have supercharged that.”
Favreau also noted that the news media is not fractured; it is individualized. “The fact that everyone is not getting the same information lowers the trust because you never really know if what you hear is real or not.”
Favreau and Jennings agreed on this point: the way forward is more debates about the news of the day, done in good faith, and with a healthy dose of humor. “It may surprise you that my best friends at CNN are David Axelrod and Van Jones,” said Jennings. “The reason we are close is that we open our hearts and ears to each other first, rather than our mouths.”
It is a philosophy Favreau expressed as well: “I believe the way to bring people into the political process and to get people to come and save democracy and help fix our politics is to welcome them in with joy and humor.”
Both conversations with Favreau and Jennings can be found online.
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Banner image: Photo by David Dee Delgado/Getty Images; event photography by Martha Stewart