I think he overstates his premise, but he hits on some interesting points.
The thing about populism is you have to be popular. The moment you lose touch with the public mood, you lose the ability to set your agenda without friction.
We should absolutely be paying attention to public sentiment. Yeah, yeah, term limited, no more elections, etc. Regardless of your opinion about elections in 2026, Republicans are definitely thinking about them, and right now I’d say many are wary. Republicans have hitched their wagons to Trump (not Musk, not Vance), and now their electoral fate is tied inexorably to him.
Trump’s going to keep the MAGA core, but he’s starting to shed independents and moderates on the economy and the question of if the country is heading in the wrong direction, and he’s doing it in a way that’s impossible to ignore, unlike his supposed approval rating decline, which is still within the margin of error. The more unpopular he becomes, the more some legislators will want to distance themselves from his more extreme impulses, particularly in the Senate. Their margin is still relatively tight in both chambers.
Last time you saw defections and retirements. Others clung even more closely to Trump. But Trump isn’t running again, and the man is nearly 80. Musk is unpopular and barred from running, and Vance will never fill that gap (and also, I think Vance is the most popular he’ll ever be right now at around 40%).
The biggest example of the change in mood in the country may be happening at Paramount (which owns CBS). It looked almost certain a month ago that the studio would follow what Disney, Facebook, and X have done by settling frivolous lawsuits with Trump. […] But that settlement appears far away now, and Paramount has fought back, including by pursuing a trial where it could obtain Trump’s personal financial information in discovery.
I don’t think this is any grand show of courage on the part of Paramount (they missed that boat), but it is worth remarking on how their stance has changed so dramatically.
Anyway, this could still go either way, but my main point is it’s winnable. If we keep the pressure on, we can stop the coup and limit the havoc they’ll be able to wreak.
I think he overstates his premise, but he hits on some interesting points.
We should absolutely be paying attention to public sentiment. Yeah, yeah, term limited, no more elections, etc. Regardless of your opinion about elections in 2026, Republicans are definitely thinking about them, and right now I’d say many are wary. Republicans have hitched their wagons to Trump (not Musk, not Vance), and now their electoral fate is tied inexorably to him.
Trump’s going to keep the MAGA core, but he’s starting to shed independents and moderates on the economy and the question of if the country is heading in the wrong direction, and he’s doing it in a way that’s impossible to ignore, unlike his supposed approval rating decline, which is still within the margin of error. The more unpopular he becomes, the more some legislators will want to distance themselves from his more extreme impulses, particularly in the Senate. Their margin is still relatively tight in both chambers.
Last time you saw defections and retirements. Others clung even more closely to Trump. But Trump isn’t running again, and the man is nearly 80. Musk is unpopular and barred from running, and Vance will never fill that gap (and also, I think Vance is the most popular he’ll ever be right now at around 40%).
I don’t think this is any grand show of courage on the part of Paramount (they missed that boat), but it is worth remarking on how their stance has changed so dramatically.
Anyway, this could still go either way, but my main point is it’s winnable. If we keep the pressure on, we can stop the coup and limit the havoc they’ll be able to wreak.