Searching for America with Robyn Curnow

The world is changing and it reminds CNN's National Security analyst Jim Sciutto of the 19th Century. He joins Robyn Curnow to talk about how 2025 will continue to trend towards Great Power rivalry and how that will or will not change with President Trump's reemergence on the global stage.

The electoral map is red, red, red. Across America, folks decided that they preferred Donald Trump to Kamala Harris. Why did the Democrats lose so badly? How did Trump get such a wide, and deep, mandate from the American public?

A South African living in the American South, Robyn Curnow brings her outsider perspective to the conversation about why Trump won (which did not surprise her in the least.) She argues it's wrong to suggest that more than half of Americans have been brainwashed by rightwing media. Nor is every Trump voter racist and sexist. It's not that simple.

http://www.searchingforamericapod.com

http://www.robyncurnow.net

Leyla Santiago, a proud Latina with Puerto Rican roots, lives in Trump turf, as she calls it. “My neighbor has a big sign that says Farmers for Trump. There's a huge sign downtown that basically says F@#k Joe Biden right across from the church, by the way.”

For many Americans, the rural countryside is the 'real' America. Trump and his team have been hugely successful in crafting the image of rural life as something that is pure America; untainted and disrespected by outsiders, liberals and urbanites.

Yard signs are always a surefire way to gauge political persuasion in a community. Leyla’s green leafy nook of the country, which is forty-five minutes away from the nearest store, wears its pro-Trump heart on front yards.

“I think there is very much this us versus them mentality,” she says. “It's two Americas and one that is not easily understood. And so I think a lot of farmers that are for Trump will tell you that they want to vote for someone that's a little out of the box, somebody that understands them because they do feel that us versus them.”

Latinos for Trump

Trump has promised to be tough on immigration. It might just be the one issue that gives him the presidency for the second time and it could well be that Latino men in swing states are the ones to give it to him, even though Trump has used divisive language to describe South Americans coming across the southern border.

I asked Leyla why many Latino men have moved right and support Trump’s hardline threats on immigration even though he’s used racist tropes to describe them?

As a Latina woman with Puerto Rican background, Leyla says the Latino communities in the USA are a blend of different people in different places. “When he says they're coming over the border and they're not bringing their best, they're bringing the rapists and the criminals. Cubans don't consider themselves Mexicans, Puerto Ricans don't consider themselves Mexicans. And so it's a little bit like, yeah, he's talking about Latinos, but he's not talking about me.”

Crucially, she says the Republicans messaging on the economy and inflation really connects to many Latinos who have a historical and personal dislike of leftist dictatorships. “They really targeted those Cubans in Miami by putting out things like Biden is a socialist, right? You say socialism to a Venezuelan or a Cuban that has a voting registration card in the US and those are fighting words, right? Like that is fear.”

Chapters

00:00 Understanding Rural America: Yard signs in Virginia
02:49 The Politics of Identity and Belonging
06:06 The Role of Media and Journalism in Politics
08:59 Latino Voters: Shifting Allegiances and Perspectives
12:13 The Disconnect: Language, Identity, and Voting Behavior
14:57 Young Voters: The Key to the Future
18:11 The Evolution of Journalism

Keywords

Rural America, Politics, Identity, Latino Voters, Media, Journalism, Young Voters, Trump, Harris, Election 2024

http://www.searchingforamericapod.com

Fun questions for two former CIA Station Chiefs.

Where would you time travel to in American history?

John Sipher - 1950's post-war

John O'Shea - he wants to go 50 years into the future. "It's my time machine I can do what I want with it!"

Favorite American landscape?

Jerry O'Shea - Hawaii (and Zimbabwe and South Africa globally.)

John Sipher - New England

Dream dinner party guests

Jerry O'Shea - Hemingway and lots more...

John Sipher - FDR

Worst mistake?

Jerry O'Shea - believing the narrative that Saddam had WMD

Chapters

00:00 Introduction to the American Experience
01:40 Describing America: Protean and Polarized
04:26 Reflections on Time Travel in American History
06:15 Landscapes of America: Cultural Melting Pots
10:00 Dream Dinner Party Guests: Historical Figures
14:14 Art and Literature: Defining American Identity
16:08 Mistakes and Lessons Learned in Life
20:14 Understanding America's Division
26:21 What It Means to Be American in 2024

http://www.searchingforamericapod.com

http://www.spycraftentertainment.com

The son of a rabbi and a renowned sociologist, Julian Zelizer is a Princeton historian who studies modern American politics in a clear, cool way. Robyn Curnow - who has covered elections around the worlld wanted to know why the politics of Donald Trump has taken so firmly root in American life and why Americans get so amped up over single issues.

And, Robyn (who was in the 'belly of the beast' at CNN) and Julian talk frankly about the mistakes the media made in covering Trump in the early days. And the arguments over if the Democrats are too radicalized and 'dangerously liberal,' as the Republicans call them.

Chapters

00:00 Complexities of American Politics
01:24 Understanding Unprecedented Politics
04:41 The Impact of Watergate on Modern Politics
06:30 Media's Role in Political Coverage
10:11 The Dynamics of the Democratic Party
12:05 Cultural Issues in American Politics
16:13 Personal Perspectives on American Identity
18:04 Jewish Identity and American Politics
20:54 Youth Engagement in Political Issues
22:44 Predictions for the Upcoming Election