The US Election is just six months away. How come snoozy Trump still leads in several states, even though he’s in court every day? We’re launching a brand-new US election podcast American Friction and its regular panelist Nikki McCann Ramírez joins OGWN to scope out American’s Final Countdown. Plus, last-minute speculation on the local elections. Are our devolved local institutions really “a hot mess”? And in the Extra Bit for Patreon people: Following the fall of Too Nice Guy Humza Yousaf, when are politicians too ruthless – and when are they not ruthless enough?  Subscribe to American Friction on Apple Podcasts, Spotify and all other platforms, and hear own Jacob Jarvis and Chris Jones make sense of the US Election countdown, along with Nikki and special guests.  • “The biggest threat to Trump’s candidacy isn’t necessarily the trials. It’s that the more time he spends in court, the less time he has for campaigning.” – Nikki McCann Ramírez • “It’s not ‘The Economy, Stupid’ any more because people will literally turn away from the evidence if it doesn’t support their view of the candidate they hate.” – Rafael Behr • “The scariest promise that Trump has made is his vow to gut Federal agency staff and replace them with Trump loyalists… He has learned from his first term.” – Nikki McCann Ramírez Support us on Patreon to get early access to all our live tickets plus mugs, t-shirts and more.  Written and presented by Ros Taylor with Hannah Fearn and Rafael Behr. Produced by Chris Jones. Audio production by Alex Rees. Theme music by Cornershop. Managing Editor: Jacob Jarvis. Group Editor: Andrew Harrison. OH GOD, WHAT NOW? is a Podmasters production. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices