Jim Antle, the magazine’s executive editor, brings to life the pages of the Washington Examiner’s magazine in the show Inside Scoop. Each episode features exclusive insight from the article authors and expert analysis.
Antle starts the show by breaking down Trump 2.0 and the pro-life dilemma. He explains, President Donald Trump delivered the biggest win the anti-abortion movement has ever seen, but many activists now think he’s pulled back.
“Trump did put three justices on the Supreme Court who voted with the majority to overturn Roe v. Wade, the biggest accomplishment of the pro-life movement in half a century,” Antle says. “But since returning to office after satisfying pro-lifers during his first term, a lot of pro-life leaders now think Trump has gone soft on their issue.”
Antle notes that after Dobbs v. Jackson, abortions have actually gone up, and that’s putting new pressure on Trump ahead of the midterm elections.
“President Trump is facing a lot of pressure from pro-life leaders to figure out a way to bring the number of abortions down again,” Antle says. “He’s been trying to recalibrate and reposition the Democrats as the abortion extremists.”
Antle points out that mail-order abortion pills are able to circumvent state-level pro-life laws and are fueling criticism of Trump from anti-abortion activists.
“Where the Trump administration has been held responsible is there is mail-order access to abortion pills,” he said. “Many pro-life leaders think that President Trump could be doing more to reduce the number of abortions.”
Ben Sasse’s legacy
Next in the show, Antle and Jay Caruso discuss the legacy of former Sen. Ben Sasse amid his terminal cancer diagnosis.
“He did do some legitimate work, especially in the area of national security, and with China,” Caruso says. “There is a legacy there that goes beyond the criticism that he was really just somebody who just liked to talk a lot.”
Caruso says Congress did not heed Sasse’s warning and has only become more performative, with lawmakers just trying to get social media clips.
“It’s gotten worse, and now we have threats on both sides to eliminate the legislative filibuster,” Caruso says. “The hearing process devolves into shouting matches and just ridiculously long speeches that are twice as long as the opening statement of the witness, and they’re really not getting much done.”
Goodbye Colbert
Finally, on the show, Daniel Ross Goodman breaks down the end of The Late Show. Stephen Colbert will host his final episode on Thursday, May 21.
Goodman writes in this week’s magazine that he was initially excited for Colbert to take over the mantle from David Letterman.
“My expectations for what he might do with CBS’s larger platform were enormous,” Goodman said. “My disappointment over the decade that followed was commensurate. The Late Show is ending in circumstances that are murky, contested, and deeply revealing about where political comedy, and the broader landscape of American discourse, stands in the age of Trump.”
The Late Show has declined in viewership and dropped ad revenue as it has become noticeably more partisan.
Colbert is not the only late-night comedian to get the axe in one way or another. John Oliver’s HBO deal concludes in 2026, Jimmy Kimmel has hinted at retirement, and Jimmy Fallon and Seth Meyers’ shows have received significant budget cuts.
“Late-night television is currently in the intensive care unit of the TV world,” Goodman says. “It’s doubtful whether it’ll make it out alive.
Tune in each week at washingtonexaminer.com and across all our social media platforms to go behind the headlines in the Washington Examiner’s magazine show, Inside Scoop.