Trumpism Uniquely Indulges Our Id as Threats of Retribution Grow and Consensus Wanes, Christie Torches Trump & Cormack McCarthy Dies

In this episode, Alex starts by discussing why Chris Christie is important for this debate cycle and must get on the stage. He plays part of Christie’s CNN Town Hall where he explains why he broke from Trump over the election lies. Christie discusses how there is no evidence and that Trump used the power of the presidency to erode trust. Next, Alex talks about the death of Cormack McCarthy, a drop in inflation, and why a new AI Beatles song terrifies him. For the rest of the episode, Alex goes into what the MAGA movement has become and why he thinks it is a rare political movement in the United States. He talks about how Trumpism seems to indulge the id and primordial tribalism of its followers and has unsealed something deep and dark that lives in all of us. Alex notes that this form of populism has been prevalent in Europe for decades, but usually US politics is attached to consensus and honoring the rule of law. Instead, Trumpism sees violence through power and places Trump as the avatar for indulgence and breaking from the status quo. As Trump has called for retribution (again), Alex worries that things could get quite dark if Trump comes back into power.