Trump and the ‘War on Truth’

In an age of alternative facts, it’s up to leaks and public outcry to hold the executive branch accountable.

On this episode of The E.R., Max Boot joins us to discuss his new book "The Road Not Taken."
On this episode of The E.R., Max Boot joins us to discuss his new book "The Road Not Taken."
On this episode of The E.R., Max Boot joins us to discuss his new book "The Road Not Taken."

On this week’s episode of The E.R., David Rothkopf, Ben Pauker, Rosa Brooks, and Kori Schake discuss the importance of checks and balances, both formal and informal, within the current U.S. government. With a new leak springing up almost daily from inside the White House, are checks and balances still effective? Or has the apparent “war on truth” fatally undermined public discourse?

On this week’s episode of The E.R., David Rothkopf, Ben Pauker, Rosa Brooks, and Kori Schake discuss the importance of checks and balances, both formal and informal, within the current U.S. government. With a new leak springing up almost daily from inside the White House, are checks and balances still effective? Or has the apparent “war on truth” fatally undermined public discourse?

The group reacts to Rosa’s FP column, and the Breitbart article that followed, which paid little heed to facts. And this trend, with the Trump administration’s encouragement, is responsible for the widening divide between truth and lies, The E.R. team argues.

Rosa Brooks is a senior fellow at the New America Foundation and teaches international law, national security, and constitutional law at Georgetown University. She is the author of the newly released book “How Everything Became War and the Military Became Everything.” Follow her on Twitter at: @brooks_rosa.

Kori Schake is a research fellow at the Hoover Institution, where she focuses on military history, and is a former foreign-policy advisor to Sen. John McCain. Follow her on Twitter: @KoriSchake.

Ben Pauker is the executive editor of ForeignPolicy.com. Follow him on Twitter: @benpauker.

David Rothkopf is the CEO and editor of the FP Group. Follow him on Twitter: @djrothkopf.

Tune in, now twice a week, to FP’s The E.R.

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