The Gist

Is Neocon Nation-Building Done For?

Elliott Abrams wants U.S. support for democracy in the Arab world.

Iraqi soldiers take part in a training exercise under the guidance of the U.S. military in the Iraqi capital of Baghdad, on May 27, 2015.

Ali al-Saadi/AFP/Getty Images)

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Elliott Abrams narrowly missed out on the State Department’s No. 2 job under President Trump, and it wasn’t just because of his sharp criticism of Trump, the candidate. In his book, Realism and Democracy, he argues that the U.S. should stay involved ­in the Arab world, going against the Trump administration’s “America First” doctrine. Abrams also sounds off on Trump’s use of the presidential pardon.

In the Spiel, Mike weighs the New York Times’ coverage of your run-of-the-mill American Nazi.

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