The Realignment

Saagar Enjeti, Co-Host of Breaking Points and former Co-Host of The Realignment, returns to the podcast. In their conversation, Marshall and Saagar return to The Realignment's roots in covering debates about the future of conservatism and the GOP after Trump seized the reins of the movement and party in the 2016 election. They discuss how the midterms will and won't determine the outcome of the final two years of the Trump administration, MAGA's future prospects, their Texas-based interpretation of the results, and the path to rebuilding the GOP after 2028.

Aspen Ideas Festival Economy: https://www.aspenideas.org/attend/economy

Session Description: Skepticism of free trade and globalization was once relegated to the political margins, but calls for government intervention now thunder through American economic debate. Does this reflect political polarization, distrust of institutions and corporate power, or a deeper reckoning with an economy that underserves too many people? As populist ideas reshape both the left and right, are we witnessing the emergence of a fundamentally different economic and political order?

Realignment Newsletter: https://therealignment.substack.com/

Realignment Bookshop: https://bookshop.org/shop/therealignment

Email the Show: realignmentpod@gmail.com

The Realignment host Marshall Kosloff and Niskanen Center Senior Fellow Steve Teles are set to appear at WelcomeFest 2026 today in Washington, DC. WelcomeFest is known as the biggest annual gathering of the political center. Steve will appear on a panel titled, "Building Centrist Abundance." Marshall will interview Senator Ruben Gallego and San Francisco District Attorney Brooke Jenkins on the center's lack of a broad story and worldview that can respond to an anti-status quo moment. Ahead of their appearances, Marshall and Steve discuss their problems with "moderation," an approach to politics associated with gatherings like WelcomeFest. While defending moderation as a personality and instinct, they differentiate between "higher" and "lower" forms of moderation and offer alternative approaches for politicians, organizations, and movements associated with the idea.

Realignment Newsletter: https://therealignment.substack.com/

Realignment Bookshop: https://bookshop.org/shop/therealignment

Email the Show: realignmentpod@gmail.com

After President Trump's visit to China with his summit with President Xi Jinping, Eyck Freymann, Hoover Fellow at Stanford University and author of Defending Taiwan: A Strategy to Prevent War with China, joins The Realignment. Eyck and Marshall to unpack the Taiwan question, America's interests in the island's fate, the One China policy, and the future of U.S.-China competition. They discuss Taiwan’s domestic politics, deterrence, semiconductors, gray-zone conflict, and what the coming years could mean for peace and stability in the Indo-Pacific.

Inclusive Abundance | "Abundance Agenda" Request for Proposals: https://www.inclusiveabundance.org/abundance-in-action/request-for-policy-proposals-the-abundance-agenda?returnUrl=%252Fabundance-in-action

Axios | Exclusive: New group plots 2028 "Abundance" agenda: https://www.axios.com/2026/04/30/abundance-group-democrats-agenda

WelcomeFest 2026 "Building to Win" Tickets: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/welcomefest-2026-registration-1982207415740?aff=040726sub

Realignment Newsletter: https://therealignment.substack.com/

Realignment Bookshop: https://bookshop.org/shop/therealignment

Email the Show: realignmentpod@gmail.com

Congressman Josh Harder joins The Realignment to discuss why Americans increasingly feel the country has stopped working—and what it would take to rebuild trust in government. Harder explains the mission of the bipartisan “Build America Caucus,” why housing affordability has become a generational crisis, and how bottlenecks in permitting, infrastructure, and public administration undermine growth and optimism. Marshall and Josh debate abundance politics, private equity and housing, education reform, USAID, AI-era energy demand, and whether America needs to stop managing decline and start governing for outcomes again. Is the problem ideology—or competence? And can a politics of building restore a sense that the future will be better than the present?