Ryan Girdusky publishes the National Populist Newsletter and leads the 1776 Project PAC. He is also the author of “They’re Not Listening: How The Elites Created the National Populist Revolution.” He joins Discourses to discuss the extremely online and extremely unserious state of Donald Trump’s 2024 campaign, which he recently wrote about on Substack. These are things that should concern Trump supporters, even though they’re encouraged not to worry by people in the former president’s orbit.
Girdusky and I agree more than we disagree on the issues that matter. I am more rabid on social issues than Ryan. But that’s okay. We both believe in the essential nationalist and non-interventionist promise encapsulated by the words America First. We both supported and defended Trump against critics while he was in the White House. But we also noticed when Trump’s rhetoric didn’t match reality and became incongruent with the mandate given to him by Americans.
In this episode, Girdusky shares what he has heard about the Trump campaign, and we talk about how the Trump Train is flying off the rails again in general and why it matters. There was never a profound reflection on what went wrong with the first administration. Why, for example, wasn’t the wall built? And why is Trump saying it was? Why is Trump attacking Ron DeSantis for how he handled the coronavirus after repeatedly praising him for it? In 2016, Trump was driving the right in rhetoric and policy. But now, it seems he’s mostly just reacting. None of this bodes well for Trump or the America First movement.
P.S. I have been experimenting with different microphones, so this episode might sound different than usual. Everything should be good to go by the next one.
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