RCP Podcast: Katie Zacharia Meets the Press, Ilhan Omar in Big Trouble? Inside the Effort To Save Oct. 7 Hostages
https://www.realclearpolitics.com/video/2026/10/16/rcp_podcast_.html

Friday on the RealClearPolitics podcast, Carl Cannon, Tom Bevan, and Richard Porter discuss the Justice Department's lawsuit over noncitizens suspected of voting in California, the new WH press secretary's disastrous first week on the job, and the federal investigation apparently claiming that Rep. Ilhan Omar's citizenship was illegally obtained.

Former White House official Brett McGurk discusses his new book,"Brink: Inside the Race to Free the October 7th Hostages," (https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0H5JZKPFW?lv=shuf&channelId=500&plpRedirect=mhFallback) and the context of Israel's response to the attacks. Plus, Elon's flying car and the weekly "You Cannot Be Serious?!" roundup of absurd stories.

Listen live weekdays at 11:00 a.m. Eastern on SiriusXM's Megyn Kelly Channel 111, or on Apple (https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/realclearpolitics-podcast/id1509826894), Spotify (https://open.spotify.com/show/5FkNemg3aIaPPNBImIcW2l), YouTube (https://www.youtube.com/@realclearpolitics4074), or other platforms.

00:00 (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k4bKJQA4UfI) - Opening: DOJ Sues California

Walworth, Cannon, and Bevan discuss whether the DOJ has a legitimate interest in preventing noncitizens from voting, and the lawsuit against California over 20,000 California ballots associated with suspected noncitizens.

"The real value of this, I think, is probably not legal, but political," Porter suggested.

"It sounds to me like the administration is trying to say that this is a bigger problem than maybe it is," Cannon added.

***

08:41 (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k4bKJQA4UfI&t=521s) - Katie Zacharia Meets the Press

The panel turns to the much-panned debut of new White House press secretary Katie Zacharia. Carl Cannon called it the "worst kind of start for a press secretary." Are her days numbered?

"It really does go to credibility. It goes to your ability to perform," Richard Porter concludes: "One suspects that the fact that she's hot had a lot to do with her being picked. It just seems to be kind of a pattern, right?"

***

16:34 (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k4bKJQA4UfI&t=994s) - Ilhan Omar in Trouble

Richard Porter argues that the investigation of Ilhan Omar should be allowed to proceed through the legal system, while acknowledging that the facts behind the allegations remain uncertain.

"I don't think it's a political gimmick ... There's been a lot of smoke around here. It's about time we got some answers and cleared some of this stuff up," Porter said. "But I don't know what the truth is. We'll find out what the truth is. We'll see what the facts are. And the best way to do that is through a legal process."

***

18:27 (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k4bKJQA4UfI&t=1107s) - Inside the Effort to Save Oct 7's Hostage

Former WH official Brett McGurk discusses his new book,"Brink: Inside the Race to Free the October 7th Hostages," (https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0H5JZKPFW?lv=shuf&channelId=500&plpRedirect=mhFallback) and his memory of the confusion inside the Biden administration during the October 7 Hamas attacks, how the attacks interrupted negotiations over normalization between Israel and Saudi Arabia, and the moral dilemma of negotiating with Hamas.

"I got a message from the Israeli ambassador here around midnight saying, 'We're at war" he begins. "Netanyahu said to Biden: You know, Joe, I'm in the Middle East. And in the Middle East, if you're weak, you're roadkill. And they think we're weak."

"Hamas planned 20 years for this war, digging this military infrastructure underneath Gaza, planned this attack, took as many hostages as possible," he said. "If you want to get hostages out, you've got to talk to them, unfortunately."