Background Briefing: February 18, 2026
The Breathtaking and Brazen Corruption of Trump and His Family As They Shamelessly Monetize the Presidency
We begin with the breathtaking and brazen corruption of Trump and his family as they shamelessly monetize the presidency having grifted more than $5 billion so far in Trump’s second term. Joining us to discuss the off-the-books deals Trump is making with foreign governments and US corporations like Nvidia which he personally controls and pockets is Aziz Huq, a Professor of Law at the University of Chicago. He is a former clerk for Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg and is the author of How to Save a Constitutional Democracy, and his latest book is The Collapse of Constitutional Remedies. We discuss his article at The New York Times, “Trump Is Raising Billions in Federal Funds. That’s Not a Good Thing.”
Trust In Elections is Cratering As Trump Claims They’re Rigged, Unless He Happens to Win
Then we look into how trust in elections is cratering across bipartisan lines among Democrats, Republicans and Independents as Trump deliberately sows doubts about electoral outcomes unless he happens to win an election. Joining us is Lauren Prather, an associate professor of international relations at the School of Global Policy and Strategy at University of California San Diego. Her work focuses on U.S. foreign policy, democracy promotion and democratization and Middle East politics. She has a new survey at the Center for Transparent and Trusted Elections at UCSD we discuss, “Trust in Elections Declines across Party Lines Ahead of 2026 Midterms.”
Why the US Media is in Crisis and How to Rescue It
Then finally we speak with Victor Pickard, a Professor at the Annenberg School for Communication at the University of Pennsylvania where he co-directs the Media, Inequality & Change Center. He is the author of America’s Battle for Media Democracy: The Triumph of Corporate Libertarianism and the Future of Media Reform, and his latest book is Democracy Without Journalism?: Confronting the Misinformation Society. He has an article at the Yale Law and Political Economy Blog we discuss, “Why the US Media Is in Crisis and How to Rescue It.”