Kamala Harris Is Back & Dividing Democrats, Trump Outsmarts Russia & China | 7/23/26 FIRST LOOK

**Dave Rubin** (0:04)
Hey, everybody, I'm Dave Rubin, and this is First Look. It's Thursday, July 23rd, 2026 We've got a packed show for you today. President Trump inks a landmark 30-year nuclear deal with Saudi Arabia that puts American companies front and center, locks out Russia and China, and strengthens US influence over the kingdom's civilian nuclear program. Kamala Harris is being anointed the Democrats' 2028 frontrunner in a new magazine profile. Even though she hasn't declared, the party is deeply divided and some Democrats openly hope she runs so she can lose again.
Baropists are increasingly encouraging adults to cut off their parents in the name of self-care, fueling a wave of family estrangement that critics say is destroying relationships and leaving people more depressed in the long run. Let's dive in. President Trump has formally approved a landmark civilian nuclear agreement with Saudi Arabia that will last 30 years and is estimated to be worth tens of billions of dollars. The deal is designed to give American companies the central role in developing Saudi Arabia's nuclear infrastructure while shutting out other foreign competitors, especially Russia and China. Trump greenlit the agreement late last week. Wright discussed the framework during his first overseas trip to the region back in April 2025
A key provision would allow US companies to build a uranium enrichment facility inside Saudi Arabia if a joint US-Saudi study determines the step is warranted. Administration officials argue this gives the US real influence over the program and practical way to prevent it from being diverted for military purposes. Under the agreement, new power reactors and other nuclear technology would be supplied by American firms, with only a secondary role possible for some foreign suppliers. Westinghouse Electric and its AP-1000 reactor, which produces about 1,100 megawatts, enough to power a mid-sized city or a major AI data center, stand to be among the biggest beneficiaries. As the reactor projects move forward, US and Saudi officials will conduct a two-year study on whether indigenous enrichment makes commercial sense. If the study concludes it is warranted, Americans would build the enrichment facility under a secretive black box arrangement that prevents the transfer of sensitive technology to Riyadh.
If the United States objects after the study, the kingdom would be barred from enriching on its own, or with any other foreign partner, for 10 years. Trump officials say the American role ensures enrichment stays peaceful, and that spent fuel cannot be reprocessed into a bomb.
Saudi officials have long argued the program is needed to develop a domestic nuclear industry that can draw on the kingdom's unproven uranium deposits, free up more oil for export, and boost revenues. The Saudis insist their intentions are peaceful, though Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman said in 2018 that if Iran ever requires a nuclear weapon, Saudi Arabia would follow. Robert Einhorn, a former long-time senior State Department official, who advised both Republican and Democratic administrations, put it this way, the agreement could help revitalize the US nuclear industry, strengthen U.S.-Saudi ties, and deny Russia and China a strategically important role in the Saudi nuclear program. But unless it contains adequate constraints, including on enrichment, it could increase nuclear proliferation risks in the Middle East and beyond. Critics on the left are already sounding the alarm.
Brad Sherman of California said Congress should only approve the deal if Saudi Arabia commits never to enrich uranium or reprocess spent fuel. A president waging war to prevent nuclear proliferation in the Middle East should not facilitate proliferation just because US companies stand to make a profit, he wrote. Henry Sikolsky of the Non-Proliferation Policy Education Center warned that wither goes so Saudi Arabia, so goes the United Arab Emirates, Turkey and Egypt. The idea that this will have a happy ending is delusional. Unlike the UAE, Saudi Arabia has rejected the so-called gold standard pledge never to enrich or reprocess. The Saudis also rejected the IAEA's additional protocol for more rigorous inspections. Trump officials counter that the separate agreement still provides adequate monitoring of US provided sites. The deal is expected to be submitted to Congress in the coming days. Blocking it would require a joint resolution and a two-thirds majority to override a potential presidential veto, an uphill climb. Some lawmakers previously pushed for an even tougher standard that would have required affirmative congressional approval. Then Senator Marco Rubio was among them. That effort never came to a vote. This agreement also differs sharply from the Biden approach. The previous administration was willing to discuss nuclear cooperation only if Saudi Arabia normalized relations with Israel. That path collapsed after the October 2023 Hamas attack and the subsequent war in Gaza. President Trump has continued to urge Saudi Arabia and other Islamic states to join the Abraham Accords, but he is not holding the nuclear deal hostage to that demand. At the same time, the White House is still pressing Iran to curtail its nuclear program and hand over its highly enriched uranium. Energy Secretary Wright summed it up, Rest assured, these agreements uphold the highest standards of nuclear safety and non-proliferation while relying on the world's best nuclear safety and non-proliferation while relying on the world's best nuclear technology and scientists designed right here in the United States. Thanks to President Trump, the American nuclear renaissance is underway and will deliver long-term benefits.