Episode Introduction
Jimmy Carter died on December 29, 2024, at age 100. A week later, Philip Klein, editor of National Review Online, joined Chuck Warren and Sam Stone on Podcast 226 of Breaking Battlegrounds to talk about the former president’s legacy. He argues that much of the tribute coverage left parts of the record out. Klein also explains what he sees as the real scandal behind President Biden’s decision to commute nearly every federal death sentence.
Todd Bensman, senior national security fellow at the Center for Immigration Studies, follows with an hour of national security topics. He covers possible ISIS sleeper cells, the New Orleans terror attack three days earlier, Trump’s plans to restore a travel ban on “ungoverned” countries and what he describes as Mexico’s role in enabling extremist travel. Kiley’s Corner closes with two true-crime stories.
Quick Answer
Breaking Battlegrounds Podcast 226, recorded January 4, 2025, features National Review Online editor Philip Klein on Jimmy Carter’s legacy and Biden’s commutation of 37 federal death sentences. Todd Bensman of the Center for Immigration Studies discusses ISIS threats, the New Orleans attack, Trump’s planned travel ban and border security. Kiley’s Corner covers the Brazil Christmas cake poisoning.
Episode Overview
The episode was recorded in the first week of 2025, between Carter’s death and Trump’s inauguration.
Klein opens with a reassessment of Carter. He looks past the warm memorials to the decisions that defined the Carter presidency. He then turns to Biden’s late-term commutations and explains why he believes the real scandal is different from what most coverage focused on.
Bensman then makes his case on national security. He discusses the possibility of ISIS operatives inside the United States, the January 1 attack in New Orleans and Trump’s pledge to reinstate travel restrictions on countries without reliable vetting. He also explains his argument that Mexico has helped facilitate the movement of people tied to Islamist terrorism.
Kiley’s Corner covers a family poisoned by a Christmas cake in Brazil and an Arizona Good Samaritan killed while helping someone jump-start a car.
About Philip Klein
Philip Klein has been editor of National Review Online since March 2021. Before that, he was executive editor of the Washington Examiner, a Washington correspondent for The American Spectator and a financial reporter for Reuters. He holds a master’s degree in journalism from Columbia University. He is on X at @philipaklein.
About Todd Bensman
Todd Bensman is senior national security fellow at the Center for Immigration Studies. He wrote Overrun: How Joe Biden Unleashed the Greatest Border Crisis in U.S. History and America’s Covert Border War: The Untold Story of the Nation’s Battle to Prevent Jihadist Infiltration. He is on X at @BensmanTodd and publishes at toddbensman.com.
Key Topics Discussed
- Jimmy Carter’s legacy after his death at 100
- Biden’s commutation of 37 federal death sentences and what Klein calls the real scandal behind it
- The risk of ISIS sleeper cells in the United States
- The January 1, 2025, New Orleans terror attack
- Trump’s plan to reinstate a travel ban on “ungoverned” countries
- Bensman’s argument about Mexico’s role in facilitating Islamist terrorism
- Kiley’s Corner on the Brazil Christmas cake poisoning and an Arizona Good Samaritan’s murder
Philip Klein on Jimmy Carter’s True Legacy
Carter died at his home in Plains, Georgia, on December 29, 2024. He was the longest-lived president in American history. Most coverage centered on his decades of humanitarian work after leaving office.
Klein argues for a fuller accounting. During the interview, he looks at Carter’s record as president alongside the post-presidency that shaped his public image, and he explains where he thinks the tributes fell short. This is Klein’s interpretation of a contested legacy. Historians continue to debate how Carter’s single term should be judged.
The Real Scandal Behind Biden’s Death Row Commutations
On December 23, 2024, President Biden commuted the sentences of 37 of the 40 men on federal death row to life in prison without parole. The three left on death row were Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, the Boston Marathon bomber; Dylann Roof, who murdered nine Black churchgoers in Charleston; and Robert Bowers, who killed 11 worshippers at the Tree of Life synagogue.
Biden said he was acting on his belief that the federal death penalty should end. He said the three exclusions reflected his administration’s moratorium, which did not cover terrorism or hate-motivated mass murder. Most of the 37 had been convicted of crimes such as killing police officers, military service members, or guards and inmates in federal prisons.
Klein tells the hosts what he considers the deeper scandal in Biden’s decision. These are commutations, not pardons. Every person who received one remains in prison for life.
Todd Bensman on ISIS, the New Orleans Attack and Border Security
Bensman argues that the border policies of the Biden years created openings for terrorist infiltration. He discusses the possibility of ISIS sleeper cells inside the country. That is his assessment, and his opponents dispute how large the risk is.
He also addresses the New Orleans attack. Early on January 1, 2025, Shamsud-Din Jabbar drove a rented pickup truck into a crowd on Bourbon Street, killing 14 people before police shot him dead. The FBI said Jabbar was a U.S.-born citizen from Texas and an Army veteran, that he was fully inspired by the Islamic State and that he acted alone. He did not cross the southern border. His case is part of the domestic radicalization debate rather than an illegal entry case.
Trump’s Travel Ban and Mexico’s Role
Bensman previews Trump’s pledge to restore travel restrictions on countries the administration considers unable to vet their nationals reliably. He also describes his argument that the Mexican government has helped people with Islamist ties travel toward the U.S. border. That is Bensman’s characterization, and Mexico disputes claims of this kind.
Update: The travel ban he anticipated was put in place. On June 4, 2025, Trump signed a proclamation fully suspending entry for nationals of 12 countries, effective June 9: Afghanistan, Burma, Chad, the Republic of the Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Haiti, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan and Yemen. It partially restricted seven more. A December 16, 2025, proclamation expanded the list again, effective January 1, 2026. It added full bans on Burkina Faso, Mali, Niger, South Sudan, Syria and holders of Palestinian Authority travel documents. Supporters call the ban a vetting safeguard. Critics, recalling the 2017 version, argue it unfairly targets particular nationalities.
Kiley’s Corner: A Poisoned Christmas Cake and an Arizona Good Samaritan
Kiley first covers the death of three family members in Torres, Brazil, after they ate a Christmas cake that police later found contained arsenic. She returned to the case the following week on Podcast 227 with an update on the suspect.
She then tells the story of an Arizona Good Samaritan who was killed while helping someone jump-start a car.
Key Takeaways From the Conversation
- Klein argues that tributes after Carter’s death left out important parts of his presidential record.
- Biden commuted 37 of 40 federal death sentences in December 2024. Klein says the real scandal is not what most coverage focused on.
- Bensman argues that border policy during the Biden years increased terrorism risk. The New Orleans attacker, however, was a U.S. citizen who acted alone.
- The travel ban Bensman previewed took effect in June 2025 and was expanded in January 2026.
Listen to the Episode
- Breaking Battlegrounds on Apple Podcasts
- Breaking Battlegrounds on Spotify
- Breaking Battlegrounds on YouTube
Related Breaking Battlegrounds Episodes
Biden’s end-of-term clemency came up a few weeks earlier, when Dan McLaughlin discussed Biden’s pardons on Podcast 223. For more on immigration enforcement, Sean Spicer and former Immigration Judge Art Arthur covered immigration reform on Podcast 232.
Cuba, which ended up on the partial travel ban list, was the focus of Armando Ibarra’s segment on Podcast 228. Afghanistan, on the full ban list, is the subject of Lynne O’Donnell’s account of Taliban detention on Episode 230.
Frequently Asked Questions
Did Biden pardon death row inmates?
No. On December 23, 2024, Biden commuted the sentences of 37 of the 40 federal death row inmates to life in prison without parole. A commutation reduces a sentence but doesn’t erase the conviction. Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, Dylann Roof and Robert Bowers remained on federal death row.
Who carried out the New Orleans terror attack?
Shamsud-Din Jabbar, a 42-year-old U.S. citizen from Texas and Army veteran, drove a truck into a crowd on Bourbon Street on January 1, 2025, killing 14 people. The FBI said he was inspired by ISIS and acted alone. Police killed him in a shootout.
Which countries are on Trump’s 2025 travel ban?
The June 2025 proclamation fully banned entry from Afghanistan, Burma, Chad, the Republic of the Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Haiti, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan and Yemen, and partially restricted seven more countries. A December 2025 proclamation added more countries, effective January 1, 2026.
Who is Todd Bensman?
Todd Bensman is senior national security fellow at the Center for Immigration Studies. He wrote Overrun and America’s Covert Border War, both about border security and the risk of terrorist infiltration.
Who is Philip Klein?
Philip Klein is editor of National Review Online, a role he has held since March 2021. He was previously executive editor of the Washington Examiner. On Breaking Battlegrounds, he discussed Jimmy Carter’s legacy and Biden’s death row commutations.
