Washington Week with the Atlantic full episode, 2/21/25

The fallout continues following Jeffrey Goldberg’s report that top members of President Trump’s national security team discussed military attack plans in a Signal group chat that inadvertently included Goldberg. Joining Goldberg to discuss this and more are Peter Baker of The New York Times, Susan Glasser of The New Yorker, Laura Barrón-López of PBS News Hour and Shane Harris of the Atlantic.

The Trump administration’s standoff with the judicial branch raises new fears of a possible constitutional crisis, as the president moves to shut down the Department of Education. Join moderator Jeffrey Goldberg, Eugene Daniels of MSNBC, David Ignatius of The Washington Post, Michael Scherer of The Atlantic and Nancy Youssef of The Wall Street Journal to discuss this and more.

Two months into his second term, President Trump is destabilizing world order. As Trump’s unpredictability is causing economic turmoil that threatens his popularity, the Democrats struggle to find ways to challenge him. Join moderator Jeffrey Goldberg, Laura Barrón-López of the PBS News Hour, Stephen Hayes of The Dispatch and David Sanger of The New York Times to discuss this and more.

President Trump's erratic approach to running the country may need finessing, as evidenced this week by the trade war he started, and just as abruptly ended, and by a confrontation with his Cabinet and Elon Musk. Join guest moderator Franklin Foer, Dan Balz of The Washington Post, Eugene Daniels of MSNBC, Michelle Price of the Associated Press and Kayla Tausche of CNN to discuss this and more.

President Trump abandoned Ukraine and its president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, in an Oval Office meeting that devolved into a display of raw anger. The fallout has been swift and intense. Join guest moderator Franklin Foer, Peter Baker of The New York Times, Jonathan Karl of ABC News, Ashley Parker of The Atlantic and Nancy Youssef of The Wall Street Journal to discuss this and more.

This week, America switched sides. Ukraine is out, Russia is in. President Trump has blamed Ukraine for starting the war that was started by Russia, and America’s traditional European allies are in a state of shock. Join moderator Jeffrey Goldberg, Peter Baker of The New York Times, Susan Glasser of The New Yorker and Jonathan Lemire of The Atlantic to discuss this and more.

President Trump indicates his loyalty to Elon Musk by firing as much of the federal workforce as he can, and his administration’s statements about Ukraine show how Trump views the war and Russia. Join moderator Jeffrey Goldberg, Eugene Daniels of Politico, Stephen Hayes of The Dispatch, Theodore Schleifer of The New York Times and Nancy Youssef of The Wall Street Journal to discuss this and more.

Elon Musk is carrying out his plan to purge thousands of employees from the federal government, even as President Trump identifies new assignments for federal officials, including occupying and rebuilding the Gaza Strip. Join moderator Jeffrey Goldberg, Michael Scherer and Anne Applebaum of The Atlantic, Eugene Daniels of Politico and Asma Khalid of NPR to discuss this and more.

In his second week in office, President Trump is on the defensive and casting blame after a terrible tragedy in the air over Washington and a chaotic week in politics. Join moderator Jeffrey Goldberg, Peter Baker of The New York Times, Mark Leibovich of The Atlantic, Ali Vitali of MSNBC and Nancy Youssef of The Wall Street Journal to discuss this and more.

In a first week meant to overwhelm the cognitive capabilities of critics, the media and the average citizen, President Donald Trump upended policies and norms across the federal government. Join moderator Jeffrey Goldberg, Leigh Ann Caldwell of Puck, Laura Barrón-López of PBS News Hour, Ashley Parker of The Atlantic and Charlie Savage of The New York Times to discuss this and more.