<p>Polls suggest the Republicans are in big trouble, and people in Washington are getting jumpy about it. It could put JD Vance in a difficult position.</p><p>Secretary of State Marco Rubio is on his way to meet European leaders: what's his message from the White House?</p><p>And the antisemitic influencer Nick Fuentes has hundreds of thousands of online followers: how much impact are they having on American politics in real life?</p><br><p>Katy Balls,&nbsp;Washington editor and columnist at The Times and The Sunday Times</p><p>Gerard Baker, columnist at The Times and editor at large at The Wall Street Journal</p><br><p>Producer: Euan Dawtrey</p><p>Executive producer: Molly Guinness</p><br><p>Email us: <a href="mailto:[email protected]" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">[email protected]</a></p><p><em>This podcast was brought to you thanks to the support of readers of The Times and The Sunday Times. </em><a href="https://www.thetimes.com/subscribe/?utm_source=podcasts&amp;utm_medium=audio&amp;utm_campaign=FY26_TML_thestateofitusa_" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><em>Subscribe today</em></a></p><hr><p style='color:grey; font-size:0.75em;'> Hosted on Acast. See <a style='color:grey;' target='_blank' rel='noopener noreferrer' href='https://acast.com/privacy'>acast.com/privacy</a> for more information.</p>