The Washington Roundtable discusses the first hundred days of President Trump’s second Administration, and the fear, pain, and outrage reverberating through U.S. politics. The clinical psychologist and longtime Department of Justice official Alix McLearen is helping distressed government workers connect with service providers during this time. She joins the roundtable to discuss how a politics of fear is shaping the lives of federal employees and ordinary citizens alike, and strategies for coping when psychological forces like fear and trauma become governing principles. This week’s reading:<ul>
<li>“<a href="https://www.newyorker.com/news/letter-from-trumps-washington/waiting-for-trumps-big-beautiful-deals">Waiting for Trump’s Big, Beautiful Deals</a>,” by Susan B. Glasser</li>
<li>“<a href="https://www.newyorker.com/news/persons-of-interest/the-conservative-lawyer-defending-a-firm-from-donald-trump">The Conservative Lawyer Defending a Firm from Donald Trump</a>,” by Ruth Marcus</li>
<li>“<a href="https://www.newyorker.com/news/the-lede/the-immigrant-families-jailed-in-texas">The Immigrant Families Jailed in Texas</a>,” by Jack Herrera</li>
<li>“<a href="https://www.newyorker.com/news/the-lede/the-cost-of-defunding-harvard">The Cost of Defunding Harvard</a>,” by Atul Gawande</li>
<li>“<a href="https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2025/04/28/donald-trumps-deportation-obsession">Donald Trump’s Deportation Obsession</a>,” by Jonathan Blitzer</li>
<li>“<a href="https://www.newyorker.com/news/the-lede/the-guerrilla-marketing-campaign-against-elon-musk">The Guerrilla Marketing Campaign Against Elon Musk</a>,” by Anna Russell</li>
<li>“<a href="https://www.newyorker.com/news/the-lede/the-supreme-court-finally-takes-on-trump">The Supreme Court Finally Takes On Trump</a>,” by Ruth Marcus</li>
</ul>To discover more podcasts from The New Yorker, visit newyorker.com/podcasts. To send in feedback on this episode, write to <a href="mailto:themail@newyorker.com">themail@newyorker.com</a> with “The Political Scene” in the subject line.

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A Politics of Fear Defines Trump’s First Hundred Days in Office

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