Welcome to the sixth episode of The Josh Marshall Show! This week Josh interviews Jeet Heer, a senior editor at the New Republic, historian, and prolific tweeter. Josh and Jeet discuss Jeet’s expertise in the history of populist conservatism, and they analyze how Trump fits into the narrative and what will likely come next if he were to lose the election. To listen to the full podcast, sign up for Prime for free access or download the episodes for $1 on Podbean.
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Josh talks to The New Republic’s Jeet Heer about the historical roots of Trumpism. In the episode, Jeet discusses how Trumpism isn’t an aberration, but rather a continuation of a conservative trend that extends back to McCarthyism, and continues straight through to today.
One thing that surprised me, if I heard correctly, was based on the fact that the conservative movement has let its constituents down for so long. Trump offers them an outlet for expressing their frustration, in the form of “blowing up” everything.
I agree. The example discussed state’s rights as a perennial conservative goal that never gets addressed.
What surprised me was Jeet seemed to assume that Trump, if elected, would be just the guy to make these long-held conservative dreams a reality. Yet, just after making this point, Josh noted how Donald has reversed himself on just about every position he’s taken.
I don’t think Trump has any intention of fulfilling the conservative dream. Trump is simply a salesman, who will say anything to close a deal, but, once made, bears no allegiance to any promises given. In fact, I think Trump actually disagrees with most conservative ideology.