The Restoration of Trump and the Last Man

Wisdom of Crowds

Tuesday night’s election has left us with total Republican control of all three branches of government. What does this mean for the immediate future of the Republic? Shadi Hamid and Damir Marusic get together to discuss. We are releasing this episode early and completely free for all subscribers.

Will Donald Trump become a dictator? What is he capable of? What might be the worst aspects of his second term? Damir discusses mass deportations as the biggest risk. Shadi worries about Trump’s foreign policy in the Middle East. More than that, Shadi worries about a Donald Trump who all of the sudden has everything he’s ever wanted — a revenge victory — and finds it still unsatisfying. “What now?”

Damir and Shadi are not very fond of the Harris-Walz campaign. Shadi laments that Harris never seemed comfortable on the campaign trail, and could never quite communicate authenticity. Damir says that Walz is an irrelevant politician, a “weirdo” with no discernible contribution to the Democratic cause.

Two minds trying to figure out where things stand in the wake of what seems to be like a momentous election. The first of many attempts at Wisdom of Crowds where we will try to read the signs of the times.

Required Reading:

* Tim Alberta on the dysfunction in the Trump campaign (The Atlantic).

* Politico piece why Kamala lost (Politico).

* Shadi: “The Democrats can’t blame anyone but themselves this time” (Washington Post).

* Turkish migrant interview (YouTube).

* “What Do Men Want?” podcast with Shadi and Richard Reeves (Washington Post).

* Megan McArdle, Jim Geraghty and Ramesh Ponnuru podcast: “Are Republicans Kamala-curious? Not so much.” (Washington Post).

* Ruth Marcus, Dana Milbank and James Hohmann podcast: “Ruth Marcus, Dana Milbank and James Hohmann” (Washington Post).

* Andrew Sullivan’s Election Night Notes on Substack.

* Donald Trump’s interview with the Wall Street Journal editorial board.

* Barack Obama roasts Donald Trump at the White House Correspondent’s Dinner (YouTube).

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