amna: The Biden administration's foreign policy efforts are at center stage this week. Here at home some compromise on capitol hill but big funding questions ahead. We turn now to the analysis of David brooks and Jonathan Capehart, associate editor for the Washington post. Welcome to you both. Let's jump right into foreign-policy and the meeting between president Biden and XI, a year in the making. A year of rising tensions. The bar for success of that summit was low. Just reestablish communications. Did they meet the bar? >> I think they did. This meeting was a year in the making. It was a meeting that had to happen. The world was happy to see the meeting. You cannot have the global superpowers at each other's throats as they have been over the last year over Chinese military planes buzzing and other things that have been happening. The fact that president XI came to the U.S., to San Francisco and met with the U.S. President and had what seems like good meetings, it is all for the good. China and the U.S. Need to talk to each other. Even if they are in competition, they still need to talk. Amna: What you -- what were your key takeaways? >> I found it quite heartening. Many have been alarmed by the intense military buildup of the Chinese. Their military spending has expanded at an explosive pace. And they can outdo us. They can produce 21 nuclear summaries a year. We struggled to get one or two. And you don't spend that much money unless you are considering doing it and he clearly wants to take over Taiwan at some point in his reign. We were looking at another war in the world sometime in the next year but now that looks unlikely because XI clearly projected an understanding that there has been a shift in the balance of power. The Chinese economy is suffering for the first time in 40 years. The U.S. Economy is growing faster. The Chinese economy had a real estate crash. It needs investment and things they can export. He seemed to project the idea that he understands his vulnerability. There seems to be a sense that could lead him to hubris seems less likely now. Amna: Among the topics discussed were the wars in gaza and Ukraine. I want to ask about the growing concern we've been seeing in the U.S. With the last conversation that overall American support for Israel remains high but as the war goes on and we have seen the death toll sort of gazans, we have seen opinion shift. Earlier this week but were asked about the is really response and 38% say it is about right and 38% also said it is too much. The second 38% is worth noting because it is up 12 points in the last month. Is the white house doing enough to message to those folks whose concerns are growing? >> Clearly not. As we saw in the piece, whatever the administration is doing is not getting through or folks just feel that Israel in responding to the terrorist attacks against it is going too far. We knew this was going to happen. I remember in the aftermath of October 7. The conversation moved quickly from Israel has a right to defend itself to how long will that window stay open? In the past when Israel has been attacked it responds with overwhelming force. As the death toll goes up and the heart rending pictures come back into American homes we will see that "Too much" go up which gets back to the bigger question. It is not so much of the messaging of the white house and whether the American people here it, it is whether the messaging and the pleading of the white house to Netanyahu to remember he is a small D democratic country and must abide by the rules of war. Whether that is getting through. That is the question. Amna: The further we move out the horrors of October 7 and I like many others have seen the videos that Israeli officials have shared and it is horrific. They do not leave you. We know lawmakers are seeing those. But the further we got from that day, concern does grow. What do you make of that increase? >> The big story here is there has been a rupture between liberals and Progressives. If you look at Joe Biden, hakeem Jeffries, chuck Schumer, Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton, liberals, they argue that we have had multiple cease-fires with hamas and every time they use the cease-fire as an excuse to reload and then they break the cease-fire and there is more bloodshed. The argument they make is we can't go through the cease-fire rhythm over and over again. We have to solve the problem. The old strategy is facing -- is failing. On the Progressive side they have adopted a policy which is not a traditional democratic policy of from the river to the sea. One state. That is not the traditional policy we associate with the democratic policy which has been very supportive of Israel. And on a bunch of issues you are seeing this rupture between Progressives that are younger and liberals that are older. And we are seeing it in spades in the case of Israel and gaza policy. Amna: To capitol hill we have some good news. There is some compromise among lawmakers with democratic house speaker Mike Johnson getting a temporary funding bill through the house. Of the president has signed it. They kicked the can down the road. Tell me about speaker Johnson's approach to bring the hardliners and address them in this way and get democratic help to get a temporary bill across the line. >> I was very skeptical of the new speaker's ability to avoid a shutdown. And instead he came up with those odd, laddered thing -- amna: A laddered continuing resolution. >> And he did it with overwhelming democratic votes. Basically, he did the statesman thing. He kept the government open. He also did the same thing that Kevin Mccarthy did that got him booted. There are rumblings from the house freedom caucus about them not liking this. I see the speaker being in the middle of a vice. Motion vacate on one side and on the others a bunch of Democrats willing to help him govern the country and keep the government open as long as he keeps doing the right. I don't know how long speaker Johnson lasts but I'm happy he has given us this good news. Amna: How long will those house freedom caucus members grant him a grace period? >> This is one case where my unrealistic optimism pays off. I think a couple things happened. Once you become the speaker you have the responsibility and power tends to make people more responsible and more sober. Not in the case of Donald Trump but of others. [Laughter] I think that happened. The last time the Democrats did not help Mccarthy lost his seat and they ended up with a more conservative speakers so why continue that process. I think people decided that we cannot have another catastrophe on our watch that is self-inflicted. There was enough sanity to do the right thing. Amna: I have to ask you about the latest in the George Santos saga before we go on. A look at the house ethics report on how he misused campaign funds. They try to expel him before. They are moving to expel him again. They said he will not go for reelection. >> You have the new -- you have the New York Republicans desperately trying to get him out. And do yourself a favor and read the ethics report. I've been in Washington a long time. This one is breathtaking. It is like a pyramid scheme. He is robbing here and paying himself there and the stuff he spent money on, thousands of dollars at Hermes, purchases at only fans and that is not a furniture store. He is out. I'll just leave it at that. Amna: David, what would you like to say? >> He does not look like he wears Hermes. There is an argument to be made that you should not expel someone that has not been convicted of a crime because it is too politically tempting. Amna: Going into this Thanksgiving holiday week, I'm grateful for you both. Thank you so much. >> Good to see you. ♪♪
