Editor’s Note: Washington Week With The Atlantic is a partnership between NewsHour Productions, WETA, and The Atlantic airing every Friday on PBS stations nationwide. Check your local listings or watch full episodes here.  

As the vice-presidential sweepstakes continues, Republicans are vying for a slot as former President Donald Trump’s potential running mate. Some of the Republicans interested in joining the campaign, including Senators Marco Rubio and Tim Scott, have taken to publicly expressing their loyalty to Trump in interviews, going so far as to suggest that they would refuse the results of an election where Trump does not win. This rhetoric could suggest what the former president is looking for in a VP.

“This is not about litigating 2020,” Mara Liasson said on Washington Week With The Atlantic last night, in response to clips from interviews with Rubio and Scott. “This is a party whose leadership says they will not accept the results of an election unless they win. The peaceful transfer of power is the bedrock of democracy and one party doesn’t believe in it.”

Meanwhile, recent polls show that Trump holds a credible chance of becoming the 47th president. But with closing arguments in his hush-money trial set to begin on Tuesday, and a verdict from the jury coming thereafter, Trump’s campaign faces the possibility that he could become a convicted felon. Once the outcome of the trial is delivered, Trump and Joe Biden’s campaigns will likely be contending with the reaction of independent voters, who could affect which candidate ends up in the White House.

Joining the editor in chief of The Atlantic, Jeffery Goldberg, to discuss the campaign trail, Justice Samuel Alito’s flags, and more: Josh Gerstein, a senior legal-affairs reporter at Politico; Mara Liasson, a national political correspondent for NPR; Ed O’Keefe, a senior White House and political correspondent for CBS News; and Nancy Youssef, a national-security correspondent at The Wall Street Journal.

Watch the full episode here.

Editor’s Note: Washington Week With The Atlantic is a partnership between NewsHour Productions, WETA, and The Atlantic airing every Friday on PBS stations nationwide. Check your local listings or watch full episodes here.  

Ahead of next week’s closing arguments for Donald Trump’s hush-money trial, the former president’s allies took turns appearing outside the Manhattan courthouse. Speaker Mike Johnson, Senator J. D. Vance, and Representative Matt Gaetz were among those who made appearances. This public-facing show of support from Republicans comes as speculation over Trump’s choice for vice president continues to unfold.

Meanwhile, in Congress, an exchange among Representatives Marjorie Taylor Greene, Jasmine Crockett, and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez left a House committee in chaos. The spat, which began during a meeting held to consider a motion to hold Attorney General Merrick Garland in contempt of Congress for refusing to release audio from President Joe Biden’s interview with Special Counsel Robert Hur, more broadly represents how political behavior could be mediated going forward. “We have a ways to go in our national devolution,” Susan Glasser said last night. “Institutions are unraveling, not just the institution of the U.S. Congress.”

Joining the Atlantic’s editor-in-chief, Jeffrey Goldberg, to discuss this and more: Laura Barrón-López, a White House correspondent for PBS NewsHour; Eugene Daniels, a White House correspondent for Politico; Susan Glasser, a staff writer at The New Yorker; and Steve Inskeep, the host of NPR’s Morning Edition.

Editor’s Note: Washington Week With The Atlantic is a partnership between NewsHour Productions, WETA, and The Atlantic airing every Friday on PBS stations nationwide. Check your local listings or watch full episodes here.  

This week, a range of political headlines continue to raise questions about the looming presidential election. The adult-film star Stormy Daniels took the stand in the third week of former President Donald Trump’s hush-money trial. The prolonged developments in Trump’s trial have prompted some Republicans, including Speaker Mike Johnson, to consider the possibility of a sitting president facing an open indictment.

Meanwhile, Governor Kristi Noem, rumored to be a potential vice-presidential candidate for Trump, has abruptly ended the book tour for her memoir, No Going Back, published this month. Noem has faced a series of bruising interviews since the book’s release, especially regarding passages about the killing of her 14-month-old dog and a claim that she met the North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un. Debate over Trump’s choice for vice president remains open, with names such as Senator J. D. Vance of Ohio and Senator Tim Scott of South Carolina still in the ring.

On the campaign trail, both President Joe Biden and Trump are contending with what a viable third-party candidate could mean for their chances this November. At the center of these discussions is the presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr.—who also reportedly confirmed that a dead worm was found in his brain more than a decade ago—and whether his impact in swing states like Michigan could chip away at Biden’s bid for reelection.

Joining the editor in chief of The Atlantic and moderator, Jeffrey Goldberg, to discuss this and more: Peter Baker, the chief White House correspondent for The New York Times; Elaina Plott Calabro, a staff writer for The Atlantic; Jonathan Karl, the chief Washington correspondent for ABC News; and Vivian Salama, a national politics reporter for The Wall Street Journal.

Watch the full episode here.

Editor’s Note: Washington Week With The Atlantic is a partnership between NewsHour Productions, WETA, and The Atlantic airing every Friday on PBS stations nationwide. Check your local listings or watch full episodes here.  

This week, President Joe Biden contended with navigating the overlapping domestic and global challenges of the war in Gaza. At home, the president addressed the pro-Palestinian protests that have spread across college campuses. And abroad, the Biden administration continues to work toward a deal with Saudi Arabia that would allow for a bilateral defense agreement with the United States. Such plans, however, are contingent on how the conflict in Israel continues to unfold.

Meanwhile, both Biden and former President Donald Trump are grappling with how their approach to the war in Gaza will play out in their campaigns for the presidency. As Biden balances his stance on Israel with appeals to younger voters, Trump aims to keep his focus on student unrest in an attempt to fracture the Democratic coalition to his advantage, especially in swing states.

Joining the editor in chief of The Atlantic and moderator, Jeffrey Goldberg, to discuss this and more: Eric Cortellessa, a staff writer for Time; Franklin Foer, a staff writer for The Atlantic; Asma Khalid, a White House correspondent for NPR; and Nancy Youssef, ​​a national security correspondent for The Wall Street Journal.

Watch the full episode here.