for some analysis i spoke earlier with boris foreman professor of politics and bard college berlin i asked him if it was trump the deal maker or trump the hard liner in the speech. i guess rather the deal maker but i think it was he was sticking to the tradition of the state of the union which it is it's a very consolatory speech it's trying to bring the different factions together it's trying to give a summary an optimistic summary of what happened in the last year and to embed it in the national history of greatness i mean this is basically what the state of the union does and trump has stuck to the script ok but there has been strong job creation and that does reduce inequality so the president has succeeded on some economic fronts as i'm sure this has been the main point that he's been making also in davos in his speech just a couple days ago this has been the main to what the democrats would emphasize is that this is sort of the the late heritage of the obama administration others would say well this is maybe trump unleashing the animal spirits of the markets it remains to be se

are helped by the democrats so it's not quite as simple as it might look force thank you so much boris foreman professor of political science at berlin's bard college thank you. heavy snowfall across the swiss alps has cut off several villages and popular ski resorts stranding more than ten thousand holiday makers some areas reported up to two metres of snow after a forty eight hour period that has cut off roads and rail routes rescue crews have started helicopter evacuations authorities are also planning controlled explosions to blast away snow that poses an avalanche wrist. the swiss mountain resort of say a mud is famous for its views of the matter horn but that iconic peak hasn't been seen in days the area had two meters of snow in a forty eight hour period lifts and runs have had to be closed and an estimated thirteen thousand people are stuck after snow closed mountain roads and blocked train tracks. an emergency helicopter a bridge was set up to ferry tourists out. the entire region is now on high alert for avalanches. the avalanche warning is on level five the highest level streets are

ok let's break down the president's state of the union address now with boris foreman professor of politics at bard college here in berlin good morning worst morning nice to see you again who did we see there in that speech was it more donald trump the deal maker or donald trump the hard line. well i guess rather the deal maker but i think it was he was sticking to the tradition of the state of the union which it is it's a very consolatory speech it's trying to bring the different factions together it's trying to give a summary an optimistic summary of what happened in the last year and to embed it in the national history of greatness i mean this is basically what the state of the union does and trump has stuck to the script okayed certainly did and he's reaching back into history tying into a lot of american themes this is a far more patriotic speech for example traditional speech if you will then we heard during the obama administration's sure but i think it's a certain jar and the difference differences aren't too great i mean there is always some appreciation of the military and the vet

up today to get their hands on this explosive book and here to discuss the possible fallout is boris foreman a professor of political science at bard college right here in berlin thank you for spending time with us so much for cs and assist yeah i mean. it's the debate is ongoing it's it's a deep rift between the ultra right faction in the republican party and the establishment something we've seen before but it's certainly a clash trump hasn't been able to stop michael from publishing the book right now let's talk about steve bannon because we're going to talk about this apparent schism that is being put out there in the public some of his backers have since said that there are they don't want to support him anymore do you see that being a fall a fall out as a consequence of what he said to what he told michael wolff sure some of the some of his supporters of said bennett is a strategic thinker but this is going to for some of the things he said to michael wolff apparently. have been so outrageous for some of the supporters of balance that they have now pulled out most notably the mercer fa

helped by the democrats so it's not quite as simple as it might look forced thank you so much boris foreman professor of political science at berlin's bard college thank you for. prosecutors in myanmar have charged two journalists from the reuters news agency with violating the country's official secrets act despite international condemnation the pair had been reporting on the military crackdown in the northern rock kind state some six hundred fifty five thousand role in jim muslims have fled the violence there for and for neighboring bangladesh the two journalists could face up to fourteen years in prison for what they say was an attempt to reveal the truth. journalist while low managed to smile as the soldiers paraded him outside the courthouse but he and colleague. seen here in a gray shirt and facing serious charges prosecutors allege they collected secret documents related to the military situation retains tight but according to while they're actually in jail for trying to tell the truth about what's happening in a cane. this is unacceptable i want to tell you that they are charging us

and from watching what's ahead for the united states in twenty eighteen i'm joined now by boris foreman is political science lecturer at bard college here in berlin welcome to our us thanks i want to begin first with the tweet that we saw from donald trump beginning in the new year of course not a stranger to picking a fight we have done that in the past but this time around he's targeting north korea and the palestinian authority and iran what do you think that that says about the potential direction that he wants to maybe take policy and what his plans might be going forward well so far we've seen that at least he didn't turn into a states' man the way that into a presidential figure the way that people anticipated just after the election it seems to be a twitter seems to be as weapon of choice deterrence to turn strategy if you want to see a strategy but frankly there's not much of a long term vision that we can see here so i think that's going to continue the type of volatility we've seen in the international system that trump has also fueled probably persist in the new year i think

let's get some more on this now i am joined in the studio by boris foreman professor of politics at bard college and berlin thanks so much for joining us so boris is trump in trouble here because i mean this book which has been written by wolf apparently it describes an undisciplined man child who doesn't understand the weight of the presidency well this is a critique that's been around for a while i think what this reflects this particular moment is a tension that has been very deep from the start of the trumpet administration between the g.o.p. establishment between the republican establishment and the ultra right which trump was willing to take on board in order to win the election of ben was a representative of the ultra right and what we're seeing now is that this deep deep rift has led to. to. cut between the two these two factions and i think this is long term trouble for it for trump and. ok long term trouble how though because i mean at the end of the day these are just words right one of those words that was used by ban and though. the word treasonous he describes this this mee