Recorded live Tuesday October 13, 2026 -- Joel Rubin, former Deputy Assistant Secretary of State in the Obama administration, joins Julie Roginsky on The Mayday Podcast for a long-form conversation on a busy foreign policy news day: Trump’s diesel deal with Vladimir Putin and the squeeze on Ukraine, Kimberly Guilfoyle’s resignation as ambassador to Greece, and the Israeli election on October 27.
Why does a resignation that looks like a scandal also raise serious national security questions? What does it mean when America’s allies start to wonder whether they can still count on us? And what could the next few weeks change, from Washington to Kyiv to Jerusalem? Julie and Joel take on all of it, along with a story from Julie’s days at Fox News that you won’t want to miss.
Guest: Joel Rubin, former Deputy Assistant Secretary of State in the Obama administration and former Director of Jewish Outreach on the Bernie Sanders campaign. He is the author of The Briefing Book on Substack and of the new book Saving Democratic Foreign Policy: How Democrats Can Earn the American People’s Trust to Lead the World Once Again. Host: Julie Roginsky
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TIMESTAMPS 0:00 Intro 0:26 Julie welcomes Joel Rubin 1:20 Breaking: Kimberly Guilfoyle resigns as ambassador to Greece 3:57 Why it’s a national security red flag 5:57 Why Greece matters: NATO, Turkey, and the Balkans 9:20 The Senate voted for her: how ambassador vetting works 11:51 How a financial vulnerability becomes a foreign intelligence opportunity 13:50 Julie on knowing Guilfoyle from Fox News 17:08 State Department fallout, Rubio’s Greece trip, and possible subpoenas 19:53 Julie’s story: the “they’re all Arab” moment on The Five 23:16 What incompetence costs America abroad 26:30 Why the Athens post matters: Eastern Med gas and diplomacy 28:31 Trump’s diesel deal with Putin 29:44 Trump’s consistency on Russia: asset or useful idiot? 31:50 The “spheres of influence” strategy 33:06 The Lindsey Graham sanctions bill and its waivers 38:30 Threats to cut intelligence sharing with Ukraine 40:49 Forcing Ukraine to capitulate 41:08 Can Europe trust America again? 42:47 Five Eyes and the cost of broken intelligence sharing 46:40 Israel’s election: what could happen 53:19 What it means for Democrats 55:44 Joel’s book and wrap
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Oct 14 202657 min