Republicans Aren’t All Dumb. They’re Just Part of Cult.

Republicans Aren’t All Dumb. They’re Just Part of Cult.

Lots of us have been asking ourselves (and Twitter) many questions over the last year. Questions like: How did about 74 million people vote for Trump, again? Why do people actually believe in QAnon? And, more recently, if Republicans can see Trump for who he really is-—and how he has become a hero among a sect of the party that, at their worst, believe celebrities are part of a global pedophile ring, and at their best, that masks are a form of censorship—than why do the majority of them still support him? Norm Ornstein, an American political scientist and The Atlantic contributor, joined co-host Molly Jong-Fast on this members-only episode of The New Abnormal to share his insight. “There are plenty of Republicans, and I put Rob Portman in that category, who know perfectly well that this stuff is just awful, or plenty of it is, but they'd gone along because they're a part of the cult,” he says. He also adds Mitch McConnell to that list: “He knows what Trump is. He knows that Trump is a doofus and a racist and has no ability to govern, to read anything, all of that, but he could get the tax cuts and get all these judges, knowing that basically the best way they can cling to power is to stack these courts that will let any voter suppression measures pass muster, and that will block Democratic presidents and [hit] the goals they can't accomplish in Congress alone.” If it continues like this, he adds, “you can't have a democracy for long that doesn't have two functioning problem-solving oriented parties.” Then there are the Marjorie Taylor Green types in Congress to think about. How did that happen? Trump certainly fueled it, but he didn’t start that fire, says Ornstein. “The Republican party had an insurgent outlier party that was dismissive of its opposition, that was contemptuous of facts and science that had blown up norms and could care less about the others in terms of governing long before Donald Trump emerged as a potential political figure or presidential candidate,” he says. “[Republicans] just dove in headfirst into the muck.” Then! The two discuss a topic Molly gets crap for and that’s why Diane Feinstein really needs to retire. And the two roast Kevin McCarthy, big time. “McCarthy had this moment to be free of Trump. And he just went back for more,” says Molly.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Episoder(1017)

I Read FBI's Wild Epstein and Andrew Files: Author

I Read FBI's Wild Epstein and Andrew Files: Author

Andrew Lownie joins Joanna Coles to examine wild new reporting that Jeffrey Epstein tried to hire a British sniper to kill Prince Andrew — a story now echoed by two separate sources. Joanna presses into the fever-dream paranoia that surrounded Epstein in his final years and the ripple effects now hitting the palace. Lownie, author of the bombshell book ‘Entitled: The Rise and Fall of the House of York,’ explains why, if true, this plot reframes Epstein’s reach and the danger surrounding everyone in his orbit. And Joanna ends by asking the blunt question lingering under all of it: what else was Epstein willing to do that we still don’t know? Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

18 Nov 202537min

Why Seeing Epstein and My Uncle Donald Haunts Me

Why Seeing Epstein and My Uncle Donald Haunts Me

Mary Trump joins Joanna Coles to pull back the curtain on the Trump family and the man at its center. She recounts a childhood spent seeing her uncle everywhere, the opulent parties that doubled as power plays, and the lessons learned about a man who thrived on attention and control. Mary dissects Donald’s core pathologies—from his craving for wealth and status to the public slips and impulsive behaviors that now define him. She warns that the real danger isn’t just Trump himself, but the enablers who prop him up and profit from his rise. From her perspective as a clinical psychologist and family insider, Mary asks: when the myth collapses, what happens to those left in its wake? Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

17 Nov 202545min

Trump In Complete Crisis Over Epstein Email: Wolff

Trump In Complete Crisis Over Epstein Email: Wolff

Michael Wolff joins Joanna Coles as the Epstein email deluge crashes straight into Donald Trump’s White House, leaving the president uncharacteristically mute and visibly cornered. Wolff argues this is the moment he’s warned about for years—the Trump–Epstein relationship finally breaking into full view. As newly released emails hint at suppressed testimony, secret negotiations, and a “dog that hasn’t barked,” Joanna presses Wolff on why MAGA is demanding total transparency even as it risks politically detonating Trump himself. Wolff explains why Ghislaine Maxwell’s family may now be threatening leaks to pressure the White House, and why Trump’s go-to strategy—delay—may not work against a story that resurfaces again and again. What does Trump do when the one scandal he can’t outtalk finally catches up with him? Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

16 Nov 202535min

Trump Knows He’s Running Out of Time: Author

Trump Knows He’s Running Out of Time: Author

Jonathan Karl joins Joanna Coles to reveal the chaos inside Donald Trump’s orbit. Karl, ABC News’ chief Washington correspondent and author of the new book Retribution, calls Trump’s relationships “abusive,” with aides, journalists, and anyone nearby alternately lavished with attention and publicly humiliated, praised, and discarded. They also dig into reports of Trump’s poor diet, bad sleep hygiene, and total aversion to exercise, which open up a larger conversation about a leader showing unmistakable signs of physical wear. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

14 Nov 202541min

I Know Why Epstein Refused to Expose Trump: Wolff

I Know Why Epstein Refused to Expose Trump: Wolff

Michael Wolff joins Joanna Coles to shed light on his email correspondence with Jeffrey Epstein and its impact on President Donald Trump. Drawing on leaked emails, private conversations, and years of reporting, Wolff exposes how the resurfacing of the Epstein files is reopening dangerous cracks inside Trump’s circle. Coles pushes him on what’s fact, what’s myth, and what Epstein really knew. As Trump fights to control his comeback narrative, Wolff posits one haunting truth: Epstein’s shadow may be the one story he can’t spin away. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

13 Nov 202534min

Epstein Files are About to Spill Into Open: Wolff

Epstein Files are About to Spill Into Open: Wolff

Michael Wolff joins Joanna Coles to unpack Trump’s tangled web of the Epstein files and Ghislaine Maxwell’s looming possible pardon. From the back in action Congress maneuvering to demand documents across the FBI, Justice Department, and multiple federal districts, to the astonishing perks Maxwell enjoys behind bars, Wolff and Coles trace the threads that link influential players, past crimes, and potential cover-ups. They dive into the “out-in-the-open” maneuvers protecting key witnesses, and what it all means for Donald Trump’s ongoing exposure. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

12 Nov 202543min

The Secret Sign Trump's People Know He's Not Fit

The Secret Sign Trump's People Know He's Not Fit

Symone Sanders Townsend joins Joanna Coles to break down the moment Donald Trump struggled to stay awake for twenty minutes in the Oval Office, and why the fact that no one around him reacted is the real story. Sanders, co-host of “The Weeknight,” on MSNBC soon to be MS NOW starting on November 15th, outlines the mystery of who’s really running the White House to the gold “Oval Office” signage, the secretive East Wing demolition, and the advisers suddenly speaking in “I” and “we,” Symone exposes a presidency drifting without leadership. In the end, Symone leaves us with the fundamental question: If Trump can fall asleep on camera and his deputies shrug, who’s actually in charge? Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

11 Nov 202544min

Why Trump's Year From Hell Has Only Just Begun

Why Trump's Year From Hell Has Only Just Begun

The Daily Beast’s must-read columnist David Rothkopf joins Joanna Coles to dissect Trump’s mounting political peril. As dissent grows within his own party—over foreign aid, tariffs, and radical Senate moves—Rothkopf warns that Trump is “staring death,” with his political survival hanging by a thread. This episode explores the stakes of a president confronting resistance from his base and the chilling question: how far will he go to stay relevant? Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

10 Nov 202539min

Populært innen Premium

avhort
papaya
storefri-med-mikkel-og-herman
krimpodden-vg
harm-og-hegseth
tusvik-tnne
giver-og-gjengen-vg
topp-3-med-mads-og-rasmus
stopp-verden
konspirasjonspodden
aftenpodden
podme-krim
hvordan-har-du-det-mann
popradet
ida-med-hjertet-i-handen
catrin-steinar-redder-forholdet
big-5-med-nils-og-harald-2
aftenbladet-dokumentar
bt-dokumentar-2
hovla