Politics

President Donald Trump accused Jewish Americans of being disloyal if they vote for Democrats. The comments evoke the anti-Semitic idea of “dual loyalty” and that Jewish citizens are more loyal to Israel than to their own countries. What kind of impact will this have on the 2020 election?

As the state budget impasse plods along, there was news about jobs, a judicial nomination, and healthcare for small businesses.

Rob Schofield, from NC Policy Watch, and Mitch Kokai, with the John Locke Foundation, have a review of the Week in State Politics.

Several of North Carolina's congressional districts are the focus of this week's politics podcast.

Mass shooting and the lack of any policy action leads this week's review of the political news.

Becki Gray of the John Locke Foundation and Rob Schofield of the N.C. Justice Center discuss the impediments to change, and also whether they hold any optimism about the state legislature considering gun proposals in the short-term. Also, a report out this week indicates the interim president of the UNC System failed to disclose millions of dollars he earned while serving on private corporate boards.

With the nation still in shock and mourning over back-to-back mass shootings in Texas and Ohio last weekend, political leaders are being forced to address gun control. President Donald Trump spent the week speaking out against hate and visiting the impacted areas while also attacking any naysayers on Twitter.

State lawmakers are showing no signs of a budget breakthrough as the fiscal year marks it's 40th day. On this episode of the WUNC Politics Podcast, Travis Fain (@travisfain), statehouse reporter for WRAL, addresses that as well as the latest mass shootings and why policy action is unlikely in Raleigh. Fain also meanders through life as a journalist, SEC football venues, and Big Sky country.

A disagreement over who should control settlement money from Volkswagen could cost North Carolinians $92 million. Volkswagen agreed to pay the state that money for selling cars that cheated on emissions tests, but both Governor Roy Cooper and the Republican-led legislature are claiming the right to dole out the funds. 

After two mass shootings this past weekend, Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) and President Donald Trump joined in support of states passing “red flag” laws. These laws allow a judge to order a temporary removal of firearms from a person threatening violence against themselves or others.

The response to mass shootings in Texas and Ohio this weekend illuminated stark differences in state and national political candidates’ stances on gun reform. Among those were Dan McCready and Dan Bishop, two men running in a special election in North Carolina’s 9th Congressional District.

When local elections officials from across the state met this week for a training, the head of the state board cracked an inappropriate joke. He resigned a day later, and left in limbo a question about what kinds of voting machines will be certified for 2020.

North Carolina House Speaker Tim Moore is a nine-term legislator from Cleveland County.

As the state budget impasse continues without much news, there was an interesting policy at the North Carolina General Assembly this week regarding hemp.

Meanwhile, a partisan gerrymandering trial in state court saw testimony from an expert witness thrown out for being inaccurate. And, a House lawmaker who stalked his wife resigned his elected post.

Becki Gray, from the John Locke Foundation, and Rob Schofield, with NC Policy Watch, review the Week In State Politics.

What is the impact of former Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s testimony in Congress this week? Since the seven hours of testimony on Wednesday, five more Democratic U.S. representatives endorsed the idea of impeachment: including Reps. Katherine Clark of Massachusetts, Andre Carson of Indiana, Lori Trahan of Massachusetts, Peter DeFazio of Oregon and Lisa Blunt Rochester of Delaware.