JD Vance is one heartbeat away from the presidency, and he's a big part of the Republican Party's future. It turns out, his ideas are also part of the reason the second Trump term has been a lot more pure MAGA than the first. POLITICO's Ian Ward returns to the show to recap Vance's first few months in office, his political future, and go deep on some of the New Right's major intellectual influences.
By Ian Ward:
The Spiritual Case for Greenland
There’s No Need to Guess. JD Vance Is Ready to Ignore the Courts.
Curtis Yarvin’s Ideas Were Fringe. Now They’re Coursing Through Trump’s Washington.
The Seven Thinkers and Groups That Have Shaped JD Vance’s Unusual Worldview
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1:00:26
S5 Ep17: Trump Had ONE JOB (with Dave Weigel)
With Donald Trump's approval ratings falling, that means some of his voters aren't getting what they voted for. We talked to those voters, to find out what that does and doesn't mean about their relationship to this administration (spoiler: they DON'T wish they'd voted for Kamala Harris). Semafor's Dave Weigel joins the show to break down how those voters are feeling, and the battle lines for the upcoming legislative battles over Trump's agenda.
show notes
By Dave Weigel:
Democrats’ new pitch: Down with the king
Democrats are all but done with Trump impeachment talk
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56:21
S5 Ep16: Can You Say 'Oligarchy'? (with Faiz Shakir)
Sarah didn't think she'd be looking to Bernie Sanders and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez as examples of good Democratic communicators. But all of a sudden, they're some of the only people in the Democratic Party showing how to get the Trump opposition engaged. Faiz Shakir, Sanders' adviser and 2020 presidential campaign manager, joins the show to talk about Sanders' and Ocasio-Cortez's rallies around the country, why he thinks they'll advance the Democratic Party going forward, and what even moderates can learn from their approach.
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1:04:09
S5 Ep15: Nothing is True, Everything is Possible (with Anne Applebaum)
Donald Trump's first 100 days in office have been marked by a lot of aspiring autocratic behavior...like deporting a legal resident without due process, targeting his political enemies, to walking right up to the line of ignoring the Supreme Court. Unfortunately, it's not a given that voters will care...or even clock that what they're seeing is bad. Atlantic staff writer Anne Applebaum joins Sarah to discuss how voters are seeing Trump, and how he's comparing to autocratic regimes around the world.
show notes
Anne on Substack
By Anne Applebaum:
Twilight of Democracy: The Seductive Lure of Authoritarianism
Autocracy, Inc.: The Dictators Who Want to Run the World
America’s Future Is Hungary
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51:53
S5 Ep14: Trump's Luxury Beliefs (with Scott Lincicome)
Trump has plunged the markets into chaos over the last couple of weeks with his tariffing, and un-tariffing, and possible re-tariffing. The Biden-to-Trump voters we've talked to were a mixed bag on this. Scott Lincicome, author of The Dispatch's economics newsletter Capitolism and Vice President of general economics at the Cato Institute, joins Sarah to listen to how the trade war is trickling down to voters and where it all might go from here.
show notes
By Scott Lincicome:
Capitolism Newsletter
This show is #sponsored by OneSkin. Get 15% off OneSkin with the code THEFOCUSGROUP at https://www.oneskin.co #oneskinpod
Unfiltered, uncompromising, unexpected—The Focus Group is a look into what the average voter thinks about politics, policy, and current events. Sarah Longwell, publisher of The Bulwark, has conducted hundreds of hours of focus groups all across the country. She and a series of special guests will take you behind the glass to hear what real focus group participants have to say.
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