American Carnage On the Front Lines of the Republican Civil War and the Rise of President Trump

So it's sort of, whose side are you on there? I mean, it was the only good news of the whole weekend. Right, that's true. Watching him just lash Paul Ryan one last time, it was a treat. It was a treat. Alien versus Predator, whoever wins, we lose.

Later in the pod, my conversation with Politico's Tim Alberta, whose new book about the Republican Party and the Trump era triggered the President to lash out at former House Speaker Paul Ryan.

And the rise of President Trump Tim thanks for joining hey this is as good as it gets I've done a lot of media this week but nothing cooler than this thanks for having me oh well you're so welcome um so a couple of months ago Joe Biden kicked off a debate among Democrats when he said that history will treat this administration's time as an aberration and that the fever in the Republican party will break once Trump is gone um other people say that Trump is a symptom of a broader rot within the GOP what did your reporting for this book tell you about this debate you know it's that's a really foundational question actually at the heart of the book you know we see all of this polarization and disunity in the country right now and I think it's fair for some people to sort of instinctively reflexively want to lay it all at Trump's doorstep and I do think that's a mistake just to the extent that I think what Trump really did effectively was that he saw some of these things building long before anybody else in the Republican party did he he saw this angst uh he saw some of this nativism rearing its ugly head he saw this disgust with the political class and a lot of people feeling left behind by politicians of all stripes and he really tapped into it and weaponized it and exploited it in a way that nobody else was able to and I do think that look for all the attention on Trump and every day he gives us cause to to have these you know really existential conversations about you know where we are as a country and as a culture and and in government but I do think we we have to think beyond Trump because he's going to come and go it is a transient office he won't be president forever but I do think that these same forces that sort of propelled him into office this wave that he wrote into office is still going to be here when he's gone and I do understand what Joe Biden was trying to say what the Vice President was trying to say which is that you know these these Republicans in Washington have you know got themselves a case of Stockholm syndrome and and they're so scared of this guy that that they're unwilling to speak out and that has sort of um tainted the party as a whole and and he has remade the party in his own image in this fell swoop and that once he's gone they'll return to normal but I also do think it's pretty naive because I think that Trump has you know sort of sent all of us through the looking glass here and I think the political system itself is now so vulnerable to disruption and you're beginning to see a little bit of it on the left not to compare anybody on the Democratic side to Trump but you're seeing some of that same asymmetrical warfare now and so I think there's a big big question for everybody uh well after Trump is gone which is how do we get a lid on this thing how do we sort of bring some normalcy back to politics and how do we restore some of the just basic conventions and institutions that made government stable.

whose new book about the Republican Party and the Trump era triggered the President to lash out at former House Speaker Paul Ryan.

the author of the new book american carnage on the front lines of the republican civil war and the rise of president trump

i think that trump really did effectively was that he saw some of these things building long before anybody else in the republican party did he he saw this angst uh he saw some of this nativism rearing its ugly head he saw this disgust with the political class and a lot of people feeling left behind by politicians of all stripes and he really tapped into it and weaponized it and exploited it in a way that nobody else was able to

i do think that look for all the attention on trump and every day he gives us cause to to have these you know really existential conversations about you know where we are as a country and as a culture and and in government but i do think we we have to think beyond trump because he's going to come and go it is a transient office he won't be president forever but i do think that these same forces that sort of propelled him into office this wave that he wrote into office is still going to be here when he's gone

Tim Alberto's American Carnage because not much has changed.

He's also the author of American Carnage, on the front lines of Republican Civil War and the rise of President Trump.

His previous book is the bestseller American Carnage on the front lines of the Republican Civil War and the rise of President Trump.

In 2019, you were on a book tour for your book, American Carnage, on the front lines of the Republican Civil War and the rise of Donald Trump.

His previous book was the bestseller American Carnage on the front lines of the Republican Civil War and the rise of President Trump.

I loved American Carnage, which was one of your first book or?

That was. That was. It was a big one, but it was a great read. Tough act to follow.

I was promoting my first book, American Carnage about Trump's takeover of the Republican party.

Tim is also the author of American Carnage.

I write about this a little bit in my book but it was I think it was largely glossed over by folks you know sort of following the Trump campaign and and even folks who were writing in some detail about his alliance with the evangelical movement