Entertainment
UW-La Crosse political scientist Chergosky on Trump-Zelenskyy meeting, GOP’s town hall response, reviving Kwik Trip-Culvers #CurdWar
UW-La Crosse political science professor, Dr. Anthony Chergosky, in studio discussing optics of the Trump-Zelenskyy Oval Office meeting, media bias and why Republicans are now shying away from public town halls.
La Crosse Talk PM airs weekdays at 5:06 p.m. Listen on the WIZM app, online here, or on 92.3 FM / 1410 AM / 106.7 FM (north of Onalaska). Subscribe to the show on Apple Podcasts here, Spotify here or subscribe to La Crosse Talk PM wherever you get your podcasts.
Plus, Chergosky reignites the #CurdWar between Kwik Trip and Culvers, and we chatted quick about the end of Skype, when the video service should be ruling the world.
We began the show by delving into media bias, highlighting billionaire Jeff Bezos’s recent overhaul of The Washington Post’s opinion section to prioritize “personal liberties” and “free markets,” which led to the resignation of opinion editor David Shipley. This move has sparked significant debate about media handling of the Trump administration.
Our conversation then shifted to the peculiar televised meeting between Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, President Donald Trump, VP JD Vance, and the media. We analyzed the unusual dynamics of the event, including whether anyone emerged favorably from the encounter including the journalist who blew his question asking Zelenskyy about not wearing a suit).
This led us to examine why Republicans, including House Speaker Mike Johnson, might be rethinking on whether to hold public town halls, claiming paid actors are attending to voice complaints. Chergosky noted that Democrats held a similar stance around 2009 during Obama’s tenure and the Tea Party movement.
We didn’t discuss it, but GOP US House Rep. Derrick Van Orden was in La Crosse around the same time as the show, holding a private meeting with business leaders. It was not open to the public and Van Orden posted this on social media afterward, apparently directed at constituents, as well as La Crosse County and 3rd District Democratic Party Chair, William Garcia.
Apparently I missed some folks.
— Derrick Van Orden (@derrickvanorden) February 28, 2025
Had a great meeting with local business owners, not sure what happened to the George Soros funded Garcia.
He sure is a swell fella. @lacrossedems pic.twitter.com/CyaXkqj4Sf
We wrapped up the show saying farewell to Skype and wondering how it managed to fumble what should have been an easy win as the pandemic moved everyone to video calls. Once the only name in that realm, Skype somehow let Zoom take over — when, really, it should have been ruling the world of virtual meetings.
walden
March 3, 2025 at 9:04 am
Didn’t listen to the program, except Van Orden’s trolling of the Dems was priceless.
During a different interview Van Orden questioned why william garcia was out doing his Democratic Party rabblerousing in the middle of the afternoon when he supposedly has a full time taxpayer funded job in education. Good question.