The Mona Charen Show

David Frum joins Mona Charen to discuss Trump’s cozy relationship with Putin, the absurdity of his Russian diesel deal, and the damage he’s doing to America’s standing in the world. They also discuss why Wall Street considers the U.S. a riskier borrower than Greece, the failure of Trump’s deadly drug boat strikes, and what it will take to repair the damage after Trump.

Susan Glasser joins Mona Charen to examine the advisers who failed to challenge Trump on his disastrous war in Iran, Pete Hegseth’s potential reckoning before Congress, the stunning collapse in Trump’s hardcore support, and whether Democrats are headed for a historic midterm victory.
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Mona Charen and Will Saletan discuss the GOP’s disastrous attempt to ambush Jack Smith, the political warning signs pushing Republicans away from Trump, and what Democrats should actually do if they win Congress. Plus, would impeaching Trump again hold him accountable—or accidentally give JD Vance exactly the opening he needs?
Bulwark Book Club pick for October: Jon Grinspan’s ‘The Age of Acrimony: How Americans Fought to Fix Their Democracy, 1865–1915.’ Mona Charen and JVL will discuss the book with the author LIVE with Bulwark+ members on Wednesday, Oct. 28 at 1:30 p.m. ET. Send your questions, comments and thoughts to them on the book through this post: https://www.youtube.com/post/Ugkxd2uInylq-1yUJoDeKNd3qLYNJa4GDVjf

Mona Charen talks with Casey Revkin of Each Step Home about what happens to children and families caught inside the immigration detention system, including U.S.-citizen kids separated from their parents, postpartum mothers separated from infants, and families detained after showing up for routine ICE appointments. Revkin also explains how her group gets food, water, medicine, and other basic necessities to families being held at the Dilley detention center.
Each Step Home: https://eachstephome.org/
ProPublica: More Than 170 U.S. Citizens Have Been Held by Immigration Agents: https://www.propublica.org/article/immigration-dhs-american-citizens-arrested-detained-against-will
Washington Post: She’s Feeding Hundreds of Kids in ICE Detention Using Commissary Accounts: https://www.washingtonpost.com/immigration/2026/09/02/california-mom-sends-10000-week-buy-food-kids-ice-detention/
Texas Immigration Law Council: https://txilc.org/
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Bulwark Book Club pick for October: Jon Grinspan’s ‘The Age of Acrimony: How Americans Fought to Fix Their Democracy, 1865–1915.’ Mona Charen and JVL will discuss the book with the author LIVE with Bulwark+ members on Wednesday, Oct. 28 at 1:30 p.m. ET. Send your questions, comments and thoughts to them on the book through this post: http://youtube.com/post/Ugkxd2uInylq-1yUJoDeKNd3qLYNJa4GDVjf?si=Fy14pgN9erXZk9Sb

Mona Charen is joined by Sonny Bunch to talk about The Odyssey for the September edition of The Bulwark Book Club with viewers. Mona and Sonny read Emily Wilson’s translation–the first English translation by a woman–and discuss the differences between the epic poem and Christopher Nolan’s recent film adaptation.
Show notes
Read Sonny Bunch’s review of The Odyssey film here.
https://www.thebulwark.com/p/the-odyssey-review
Get The Odyssey original motion picture soundtrack by Ludwig Göransson vinyl set
https://madebymutant.com/products/the-odyssey-original-motion-picture-soundtrack