Slate's Stephen Metcalf thinks President Trump is a hostage to 1979.

Why else would he overreact by killing Iranian Major General Qassem Soleimani for inciting protesters to storm the U.S. Embassy in Iraq?

In President Trump's mind, it was the right response. How else could he avoid the fate of Jimmy Carter, a once popular president deemed weak after failing to bring home 52 hostages captured during the Iranian Revolution? Why else would the President threaten 52 cultural sites, one for each of those captured hostages?

This is Colin's full interview with Stephen Metcalf, lightly edited for sound but not content. You can hear a shortened version in Episode 7 of Pardon Me (Another Damn Impeachment Show?).

GUEST:

• Stephen Metcalf - Host of the Slate Culture Gabfest; he's working on a book about the 1980s

Thanks to Catie Talarski and Chion Wolf.

Email us your questions at pardonme@ctpublic.org.

Pardon Me is a production of The Colin McEnroe Show on Connecticut Public Radio.