The Wajahat Ali Interview

Americans must fight a war on two fronts: against MAGA fascism and Democratic Party complacency. Wajahat Ali of the Left Hook on Substack and author of Go Back to Where You Came From: And Other Helpful Recommendations on How to Become American joins Gaslit Nation to discuss how to actually build back better this time.

Donald Trump is America's karma of white supremacy, greed, and misogyny. But while the MAGA virus burns through our institutions, another danger is the "Big Club" in Washington, D.C. where Republicans and Democrats share the same donors, the same golf clubs, and the same refusal to tax the rich.

The DNC thinks they can waltz into power by not being Trump, but voters want a fighter and they want accountability. We are watching a righteous rage build across the globe, from the resistance in Ukraine and Hungary to vigilante violence here at home. When an Amazon worker drops dead and colleagues are told to work around the body, the status quo makes revolution by any means inevitable.

Ukrainians are fighting a war on two fronts: homegrown corruption and Kremlin fascism. We must see ourselves in the same fight. If the Democrats choose the James Carville "possum strategy" and refuse to face reality, they are simply clearing the deck for a more competent autocrat in 2032.

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Show Notes:

Amazon Accused of Hiding Worker's Death for a Week, Making Employees Keep Working as Corpse Lay on Floor https://futurism.com/future-society/amazon-accused-hiding-death-week

Worker who allegedly set fire to California warehouse compares self to Luigi Mangione https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/apr/10/california-warehouse-arson-luigi-mangione

Newsom Vows to Stop Proposed Billionaire Tax in California https://www.nytimes.com/2026/01/13/us/newsom-billionaire-tax-california.html

Christiane Amanpour and Jill Lepore on CNN: Civil War Confederate President Wasn't Tried, Why It Matters In Trump Case https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZXVOIab3ek8

The Black Death by Thomas Asbridge review – a medieval horror story https://www.theguardian.com/books/2026/apr/08/the-black-death-a-global-history-thomas-asbridge-review-pandemic-history-covid

Why Does "DoorDash Grandma" Keep Showing Up with MAGA Members? https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/2026/04/14/has-doordash-grandma-appeared-with-other-gop-leaders-what-to-know/89602972007/

Aaron Rupar: "A woman named Lonna Drewes at a news conference just now accused Eric Swalwell of drugging her drink and sexually assaulting her. Here's part of her statement." https://bsky.app/profile/atrupar.com/post/3mjhtlsrn5i2z

David Dayen: "Several important nuggets in here: • Swalwell was rebuilding Newsom's inner circle; he was the establishment hope • One lobbyist: "Were we willing to delude ourselves or not ask questions that should have been asked? 1000%" • His campaign started sending cease-and-desists last year" https://bsky.app/profile/ddayen.bsky.social/post/3mjfu4px42c25

Lesley Abravanel: "In a major shift, Cook Political Report has now moved 4 Senate seats toward the Democrats (NC,GA, OH, NE). That's on top of 5 House races that Cook Political moved leftward just last week, all partly due to Trump's unpopular war in Iran that sent gas prices skyrocketing." https://bsky.app/profile/lesleyabravanel.bsky.social/post/3mjflo3zkdc2t