King and dictator

<p>On this episode, The Washington Post’s Libby Casey and JM Rieger are joined by metro reporter Emily Davies and White House correspondent Michael Birnbaum to discuss the escalating rhetoric used by President Donald Trump and his administration, <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2025/02/19/ukraine-russia-trump-elections-zelensky/?utm_source=podcasts&amp;utm_medium=referral&amp;utm_campaign=can-he-do-that" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">calling Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky “a dictator without elections,”</a> while also meeting with Russia delegates for peace talks, notably without Ukrainian involvement.</p><p><br></p><p>Elon Musk’s U.S. DOGE Service, and The Trump administration also <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/dc-md-va/2025/02/20/judge-declines-pause-federal-worker-firings/?utm_source=podcasts&amp;utm_medium=referral&amp;utm_campaign=can-he-do-that" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">continued to cut federal workforce jobs across the country</a>, targeting probationary employees, and sometimes citing ‘performance’ issues without evidence.</p><p><br></p><p>Meanwhile, <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/dc-md-va/2025/02/20/trump-dc-take-over-bowser/?utm_source=podcasts&amp;utm_medium=referral&amp;utm_campaign=can-he-do-that" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Trump threatened to ‘take over’ governance of Washington D.C.</a>, reversing its current home rule status, claiming local leaders are not doing enough on crime, cleaning up graffiti, and removing homeless encampments.</p>