Mike talks to a Trump supporter – not a know-nothing or ‘lesser of two evils’ Trump supporter, but an intelligent, well-read, politically astute guy who makes a positive case for Donald Trump. (He also has a few website recommendations: Ace of Spades HQ and Instapundit.)
Hi Politics Guys. I really enjoy your Podcast.
A little frustrated however, when a person is left unchallenged about statements.
As I keep listening to ‘the Trump supporter’ I am a little annoyed that statements about Putins strength is allowed to stand instead of being challenged about his tendencies to repress and increasingly dictate.
There is no proven link between this election and that’s fine; however, no one should be able in a democratic society be able to claim that Putins Russia is managed by a strong leader while he locks up opponents, suppresses opinions and changes voting laws for his benefits!
I absolutely agree that Putin is a seriously bad man – far worse than Trump (though who knows what Trump would do given Putin’s power). But I also think that he is absolutely a strong leader. The problem, in my view, is that his strength is used for repression, illegality, and murder.
Thank you. I was coming to post the same sentiment. If I wanted to listen to Trump propaganda, I’d go to Breitbart. This podcast is guilty of this quite a bit. Why give these people a microphone? That is what has led to Trump in the first place, giving nonsensical morons a podium to appear valid.
Yeah you only want to hear Trump CRITICISM or praise of Hillary, it’s all about hearing what you want to hear…..just stick to the NYT.
I am no Hillary fan, by all means criticize her, but stay in the realm of reality. If I wanted an alternate universe, I’d listen to a fiction audiobook.
Thanks for allowing a Trump supporter to speak out, “unshackled” to highlight the muddled thinking, bigotry (I’m a New Yorker) conspiracy theories and general venom towards the Republican party, most of what it has traditionally stood for, and its last 3 or 4 standard bearers to boot, delivered with a friendly aw shucks drawl…
How you were able to make it through the entire podcast with this person (Your “friend?”) and his warped worldview without either screaming at him at the top of your lungs, or audibly tearing your hair out, is either a testament to your patience or something more questionable.
That you called this person a well read (When he’s mostly reading books published by Regnery publishing) intelligent person (Sid Blumenthal? Sid Vicious? This reference, er multiple references to the worst of right wing talk radio’s Benghazi conspiracy rants.) who is a Trump supporter is certainly a stretch. In a way it’s a public service, in another way, it’s a chilling window into the 40 or so percent of my fellow Americans, who would be willing to elevate a man who would “Grab them by the pussy”, to be the leader of the free world.
After all, That Putin IS a strong leader…
Thank you.
I am not going to finish this week’s podcast. What is the point of having a host if you just let any liar or uninformed person spew lies or mistruths unchallenged? We all know where we can find Trump propaganda online and we actively avoid it. If you want intelligent listeners, keep the conspiracy theorists off your program.
Gee lies, interesting care to list the lies?
Oh don’t finish it, after all it might affect your wa….after all everyone you know, knows all the right thoughts, right?
I was really looking forward to this podcast as I had yet to hear an intelligent case for Trump and you guys normally have smart commentary.
As he went on however I saw, not to my surprise, that there *is* no intelligent case for Trump. He wasn’t nuanced, his points were made with the ole “I mean common!” As if that’s a point. And apparently since he’s tired of hearing about rascism and sexism it no longer exists.
Ok I’m done.
Uhhhhh, when EVERYTHING is racism or sexism NOTHING is….name ONE Republican POTUS candidate who was NOT a “racist” or “sexist”…..I’ll wait.
um – this guy is not intelligent
um – this guy is not well read
um – this guy is not politically astute
He starts our the conversation stating that he “is a contrarian” which is the simplest and most accurate thing he says in the entire interview. This guy babbled on and on with a lot of barely coherent assertions, rarely said anything that didn’t have 3 things wrong with it.
For example:
“Putin is a strong man, knows what he wants and is trying to get it. as opposed to the US current policy floundering around”
So he fundamentally misunderstands the difference between a dictator and a democracy?! Does he think that the Democrats have total say over US policy!?
When someone says shit like this is’t just easier not to try to explain things to them since clearly they are too messed up to rescue….
And did he actually say – “The word neo-con has been taken to be “the jews”? I think he did – what the hell does that even mean?
His biggest argument for Trump seems to be “he is a fighter” which he then explains means that Romney and McCain were not strong enough to win and Trump is – they let the Democrats be too critical of them without fighting back the way that Trump will. News flash: Trump is going to get his ass kicked way worse than either of those guys.
Don’t waste your time with this podcast. I appreciate the effort, but if you think you are going to hear anything new or interesting, you are not…
So how does Putin is a strong leader not recognize the differences between a democracy & an authoritarian regime?
It means, had you bothered to listen that when I say “Globalist” I don’t mean it as the pejorative that “Neo-Con”=Jews means….and I might add it was YOUR side that decided that Neo-Con=Jew….
And when someone’s critique is this messed up it’s hard to take seriously.
Oh I see, it’s argument by defintion, “he’s a tRump” supporter” he CAN’T be intelligent…..you guyz & galz are good.
Joe,
No one said that he wasn’t intelligent BECAUSE he was a Trump supporter. In fact, most of the comments here are from people who are actually interested to hear from someone who IS an intelligent Trump supporter. (Problem is that this guys on the podcast is a ranting and babbling mess so he does not fit the bill).
There are a lot of people here who are totally mystified how anyone could support Trump. We actually want to hear someone make an articulate case – not because it will change our opinion (because it probably won’t), but because it will make us feel better about our country. No one really wants to think that such a large majority of the US are such uniformed bigots that they would vote for this clown.
That was my attitude going into this for sure. Guys/gals who somehow have it in their head that only one party does the name calling or acts abhorrently is not going to have much of a convincing argument. You can always tell who lives in an echo chamber. This guy’s reasoning made so much sense to him lol.
Unlike YOUR echo chaber, right…where tRump is a raciss, sexist, and his supporters are “Deplorable”?
You’re putting words in my letter friend. But since you brought it up… I met a friend of my best friend who used to do work with trump in the early 2000’s. The guy said he loved him. He showed not a hint of rascism, paid him on time, was friendly, etc. Back guy. He also said he was completely confused and disappointed when Trump started with the birther stuff and he couldn’t do business with him anymore.
I suspect that a great many of millionaire men, or good looking men, or powerful men could be called sexist (T is 2 outta 3 I think). So while his comments are sad and unfortunate, I’m not shocked by them.
All that said, I think Trump is an opportunist, plain and simple. Hes taken any number of positions over the past years on every topic you can name. I believe after this election we’ll see the Trump network / channel where he’ll keep all his supporters angry and inspired and he’ll never have to do a thing he said in his campaign.
No you are like White Southerners in the 1950’s who want to hear what you want to hear about Civil Rights.
Nice try though.
Oh so we are Deplorable & Irredeemable, now…sounds UNCIVIL & ELIMINATIONIST, to me, shouldn’t you be more careful in your speech?
Oh that’s right that only applies when speaking of Democrats….
Joe –
We get it, you are pissed off and feeling left out. You hate Clinton. But what is it that you actually want!? Is there something positive that you want for the country? b/c frankly I don’t get it and I did (belive it or not) listen to this podcast thinking that perhaps someone could articulate it.
TAD
To everyone who commented and was, for whatever reason, unsatisfied with Joe’s defense of Trump, I’d like to suggest this article. The author, like Joe, supports Donald Trump, but his arguments are somewhat different (though I suspect Joe would agree with a lot of what the author writes). While I think it’s full of errors of fact and reasoning, I also think it’s well worth reading. http://www.claremont.org/crb/basicpage/the-flight-93-election/
Great article. I disagree with a lot of his premises, but at least he goes to great lengths to articulate his points. Thanks for sharing.
I’m a new listener to this podcast so I don’t know the history of this podcast. So I apologize if my comment is off the mark.
I think that your friend is the perfect embodiment of the educated Trump supporter who has seemingly cast aside any need for intellectual rigor in their defense of their chosen candidate.
Instead his entire defense of Trump is based on being aggrieved. His entire defense of Trump isn’t a defense of Trump per se but rather an attack on Democrats and what he considers feckless Republicans and of course the media. He supports Trump purely for his pugilistic style.
When he isn’t really able to defend some of Trump’s more glaring flaws(his temper, his indifference to policy detail) he goes with a generic retort of how the other side is somehow worse. Suggesting that Barack Obama is more thin skinned and vindictive than any President in our history was a truly impressive leap.
I just would like to remind Mike that it isn’t objective to allow a person to lie on your show. Some level of truth is inherent in objectivity. Trump and his supporters believe many things that have been proven false again and again. Allowing them to propagate these lies unchallenged is not doing journalism or democracy any good. You can remain objective without capitulating to a worldview that rejects reality.
Nathan. I agree that lies should not go unchallenged. However, real-time fact checking is a difficult thing even for highly experienced journalists, and knowing that (and appreciating my limitations) it’s not something I’d attempt unless I was absolutely, 100% certain. That said, if you’d care to point out any specific falsehoods, I will most definitely investigate them and comment, as well as to give Joe a chance to respond. – Mike
Thanks for your response, Mike. I enjoy your show. I think we all have shorter fuses for opposing arguments this cycle. Take care.
Getting through this “interview” where you gave someone with a seriously warped worldview (and quite reality-challenged as well) a platform to spew his alternate universe brain droppings while going unchallenged was a great disservice.
AC – there are a number of listeners who agree with you, which I understand. I made a decision to simply ask questions and let Joe speak. My hope is that people will draw their own conclusions. But that said, if you feel there were errors of fact in what Joe said, definitely let me know. As I wrote to another listener, I will investigate all such claims, comment on them, and allow Joe to respond if he would like to. As with all my guests, I let him know what I would be asking so that he had sufficient time to prepare answers. I think that’s important so that people can think through their positions as opposed to simply saying what they happen to think of in the moment. That being my approach, it seemed inconsistent to quickly react without taking time to consider. Finally, thanks for taking the time to comment. – Mike
Hi Mike and Joe,
Thank you very much for this controversial podcast!
If you looked up “Hillary Clinton Supporter” in the dictionary, you’d see my picture. I sat there listening to this interview… fuming… itching to turn it off… at one point, I even paused the podcast so I could yell at my phone uninterrupted…
After it was all over, I very much appreciated Mike’s approach. You let Joe talk and for the most part, you only asked questions meant to clarify. At no point did you try to debate Joe, and most importantly you didn’t try to edit Joe or recharacterize his opinions into something that fits into one of our neat boxes of Trump supporters.
It doesn’t matter whether I agree or disagree with Joe. There are millions more voters who share his opinions, who have thought about their positions as much as I have, who are just as passionate as I am, and whose vote counts just as much as mine. I’m related to some of these people… I work with some of these people… and I know they are mostly good people just like me, and probably just like Joe.
I watch late night talk shows and read articles with liberals trouncing everything we hear from Trump and Trump supporters… “Let’s take a closer look at why this is so ridiculous…” To be clear, I agree with them — it IS ridiculous and it’s hilariously funny to talk about it… but I’m mystified why there are so many people who hear this same stuff coming out of Trump’s mouth and think “Heck yeah! That sounds great!”
Two things came to mind during the interview —
(1) Both sides have to get comfortable with our own hypocrisy. I know that Hillary has been in the public view for a long time, and she has done things that are, at the very least, questionable. I’m overlooking all of that when I support her, and I am ok with that. That’s exactly the same thing Joe said about Trump. Why is it right for me and wrong for him? If we cannot come up with an answer to that, we have to stop saying it. Also, liberals like to pretend that we are somehow more enlightened than the backwoods bumpkins voting for Trump… but as your earlier podcast revealed, the intelligence or educational differences between parties aren’t significant. I need us to understand why this is happening — really why? Why are our lives so much better than our forebears, and yet so many Americans are still so angry? Tea Party angry… Donald Trump angry…? Whoever’s Next angry? We can’t continue to be reductive and dismissive. We must begin to listen, understand, educate and repair. Mike, you did that in this interview, and I appreciate it.
(2) Immediately when Joe started talking, I heard him say some things that I always attribute to a country that is ripe for a dictator. I heard that he felt downtrodden – cast aside for other people, his opinions are not shared by the powerful and worse, he is shamed for having these opinions. And that’s what I hear from a lot of Trump supporters. “I felt so miserable, and then this man came along and told me he would fight for us, and everything would go back to the way it was before, and we would be all right!” I apologize if I am mischaracterizing. That’s what I heard. I think many dictators in recent history came to power on exactly that platform. “Make Russia great again!” “Make Iraq great again!” “Make the Philippines great again!” So… I wonder if Joe could help me with that? If we could live in the USA as messy and imperfect as it is today, or a USA that is “great again,” exactly as Trump describes, but that is also a dictatorship … what would be his preference?
Thanks!
Thanks for that very thoughtful comment! You absolutely get what I was trying to do in the interview, which I greatly appreciate. I know that many listeners either didn’t get it, or perhaps they did, but still felt that I should have confronted Joe. I think I understand where they’re coming from, and while I respect their position, I also respectfully disagree.
I think you did the right thing. You’ve chosen to go out into the public by hosting your podcast. As I understand, Joe is a private citizen. It would have been unfair and unkind to ask him on your show and then try to skewer him.
Separate but related, I’m growing fearful of people who preach to own choirs and enrage the other side. We have too much anger, threats and violence in our society right now to be so careless with our words and actions. Yes I am truly hoping that the Trump train will be derailed in 3 weeks, but I also hope that I can express that in a way that doesn’t make me another contributor to the problem.
I see what you are going for, and I know you didn’t want to invite him onto the show to talk and then attack him… but I wonder if you could have had some intelligent and civil discussions to allow him to expand on and maybe give more dimension to some of the things he was saying.
Because what I got out of his answers was:
1. He supports Donald Trump because he is a fighter and he isn’t afraid to attack the other side.
2. He doesn’t feel that Trump’s shortcomings are that much worse than the shortcomings of anyone on the other side.
3. Anything Donald Trump says that the public thinks was really bad has been blown way out of proportion.
And I don’t think I needed to listen to all 44 minutes of the show in order to learn that even the best of the Trump supporters support him because:
1. They think it’s normal to be sexist and racist
2. Everyone makes comments about molesting women in private.
3. It’s ok to not know about governing or laws or basically anything about the job to be qualified for one of the most important jobs in the nation, because no one can be 100% prepared for that job when they take office.
So yea, I think I would have much rather you got him to expand on some of his opinions, instead of letting us sit in frustration for 44 minutes in awe of the blinders he has on.
The inherent problem in what you just said is that in the same statement, you essentially said that it’s wrong for people to group others into mass categories of sex and race and pass judgment on them… and then you grouped a mass category of Trump supporters and passed judgment on them. I understand what you mean – but what I’m saying is why should anyone see this argument as having logical basis?
When all the Republican males came out and said that as fathers of beautiful daughters, they were offended by Trump’s statements, we asked why do they have to point to their female relatives as the reason why they are offended. How many times have feminist leaders exhorted men to fight against sexism because they love their daughters? I understand that point, but I can also see why this is confusing and we cannot afford to be confusing on this issue.
Thank goodness Bill Clinton had the good sense not to go on the Howard Stern show… but am I 100% certain that he didn’t use his power and position as leverage to be excessively predatory? I’m not, and there is at least one woman who says that’s what he did. Obama had virtually no experience when he was elected President. I knew this when I voted for them but I still had faith in them. I think I was right and I would vote for them again. How can I look at people who support Trump and expect different?
The problem with Trump isn’t Trump. The problem is that we have a growing number of Americans who are angry, resentful and mistrusting of the establishment. And some people on the liberal side label these people as something ugly and then disregard them for that reason. And the one thing we should realize as we look at history is that disregarded people don’t go away. They simmer and then they congregate around a leader who says everything they want to hear… and then they erupt.
We are all part of this society and we are all responsible for its problems and we are all responsible for finding the solutions. “When they go low, we go high.” That means we meet unfairness with fairness, we meet closed minds with open minds and we meet anger and resentment with compassion and understanding. And if none of us can do that, then I worry about what comes next. It will not go away simply because we disparage it. We all must be responsible for realizing how we contribute to this problem and then taking a mindful course of action to build the solution.
Yea, my comments were not well thought out. I was not trying to make an argument, but trying to express the frustration I felt while listening to this guy’s answers for 44 minutes when the premise is that he is supposed to have an intelligent reason for supporting Trump. I was also trying to give feedback that I did not get as much out of listening to him as I could have, had it been more of a civil discussion instead of what it was.
I disagree about expecting differently from Trump supporters, when you supported Clinton or Obama. At least Clinton and Obama showed that they were presentable and prepared to take office. I do not believe they exploited the worst in people in order to gain votes as Trump has. The problem with Trump IS Trump, but I get what you are trying to say. The problem with the fact that Trump has so many supporters is not Trump. There are many who have lost hope and want change at any cost, and they deserve better than what they have been getting.
You’re right, RS – Barack Obama showed a high degree of intelligence, work ethic and a willingness to learn which is what made me overlook his inexperience, and Bill Clinton had strong skills in working with other people which is what made me think he’d be a strong public official despite his private transgressions. And… I don’t want to think of Donald Trump as having any influence at all because he makes my skin crawl, so I want to think of him as a symptom instead of a cause. Thank you for your thoughtful response!
I like the podcast but this Trump supporter was just ridiculous. The defense of the Trump bus comments was just ridiculous. Leaving the Instapundit link, referring to “Sid Vicious”, and saying the Barack Obama is the most thin skinned Preeident tells me everything I need to know about this guy.