Democrats, Republicans & the Border (with Ken Salazar)

This week on the Stay Tuned with Preet podcast, renowned attorney and politician Ken Salazar joins Preet to discuss his new book, Borderlands: My Fight for an Inclusive America. Salazar served as US ambassador to Mexico under Biden, Obama’s secretary of the interior, a U.S. senator, and Colorado’s attorney general. 

They discuss the Trump administration’s relationship with Mexico, why Republicans would rather keep the border “broken,” and Salazar’s tenure as US Ambassador to Mexico, which ended with Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum calling him a liar. Then, they turn to what Salazar calls President Trump’s “project of erasure” and why the opposite of diversity is not exclusion, but erasure.

After the interview, Preet answers listener questions about the reflecting pool vandalism case and DC US Attorney Jeanine Pirro’s decision to dismiss the charges.

In the bonus for Insiders, Preet and Salazar discuss the 2028 Democratic presidential field. Plus, whether Salazar has considered running himself.

Join the Insider community for access to bonus content from Stay Tuned and weekly episodes of the Insider podcast hosted by Preet and Joyce Vance. Visit staytuned.substack.com to sign up. Thank you for supporting our work.

Photo by Jeannette Flores/ObturadorMX via Getty Images

Show notes and a transcript of the episode are available on our website. 

Watch this episode on our Youtube channel.

Shop Stay Tuned merch and featured books by our guests in our Amazon storefront.

Have a question for Preet? Ask @PreetBharara on BlueSky, or Twitter with the hashtag #AskPreet. Email us at staytuned@cafe.com, or call 833-997-7338 to leave a voicemail.

Stay Tuned with Preet is brought to you by CAFE and the Vox Media Podcast Network.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices