The Young Turks Broadcast Live From Harvard

The John F. Kennedy, Jr. Forum was filled Monday night as the Young Turks broadcast a live panel from the Kennedy School about the aftermath of the 2016 election, as part of their nationwide tour.

The Young Turks, an internet-based media organization, partnered with the Fusion television channel to host live broadcasts on college campuses throughout the fall.

John M. Iadarola and Cenk K. Uygur discuss the upcoming Trump presidency on "The Young Turks on Fusion" during a live broadcast from the Institute of Politics Monday evening. "The Young Turks" is one of the world's largest online news shows, focused on political commentary and progressive policy. By Thomas W. Franck

People eager to see the broadcast packed the forum, with some even putting out chairs on the third floor so they could watch the event. The panelists, who consisted of the Young Turks hosts Cenk Uygur and John Iadarola, Fusion host Felix Salmon, and Institute of Politics fellow Sarah Isgur Flores came onstage to huge applause and a crowd of fans wearing the Young Turks gear. Flores was the deputy campaign manager for Carly Fiorina’s 2016 presidential run.

“This is the biggest, best crowd we’ve seen so far,” Uygur said.

The panelists talked about President-elect Donald Trump’s unexpected victory and his potential policies once he takes office, ranging from foreign affairs to sustainable energy.

“With John Bolton now being a frontrunner for Secretary of State, we have a good idea of his foreign policy,” Iadarola said, referring to the former U.S. ambassador to the United Nations whom the hosts said had a pro-interventionist stance.

The panelists speculated on how Trump would respond to pressing diplomatic issues as a businessman. The panelists disagreed on whether the chance for a conflict with Russia will increase. Iadarola and Flores said they thought the chances would increase, while Uygur and Salmon disagreed.

“Putin and Hillary Clinton cannot stand each other,” Flores said. “I think Trump comes in with a different relationship and Putin is relieved.”

As to how Trump got elected, the panelists all agreed that the boost he received from the media was unprecedented due to the substantial news coverage he received from the onset of his campaign.

”If you’re running for a senator in Montana, you don’t get free media,” Uygur said.

Another IOP fellow and New York State Assemblyman Michael A. Blake took the stage for a short one-on-one interview with Uygur. When asked how the Democrats could reach out to Trump voters, Blake said they needed to reconnect with citizens.

“If you look at what’s going on in Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, Michigan, a lot of people are like ‘You’re not hearing me, you’re not feeling my pain!’ Those people walk away from the process,” Blake said.

“I could feel the excitement in the room, even from the third level,” Nadine Khoury ’20 said. “It was informative that the panel... offered varying analyses of the early cabinet picks.”