It's Time for a Change
with John McWhorter
The cat’s out of the bag: I’m glad Trump won. I identify with the populist spirit that elevated him to the presidency the first time, the spirit that’s made him the most influential politician in the country, and that put him into office once again. If things go well, he could make some badly needed changes to our country. If things don’t go well, I’ll have plenty to say about it. But the Democrats had their shot—more than one, in fact. They’ve done very little to improve economic pain at home and war abroad, but they seem to think we ought to be happy with whatever they give us.
John, of course, is appalled. He doesn’t understand where my enthusiasm is coming from. In this clip from our most recent conversation, I do my best to explain it to him.
This is a clip from the episode that went out to paying subscribers on Monday. To get access to the full episode, as well as an ad-free podcast feed, Q&As, and other exclusive content and benefits, click below.
General misogyny and racism cannot explain the victory of Democratic female Senate candidates in Nevada. Wisconsin and Michigan—all states which voted for Trump; or the victory of a Democratic Hispanic Senate candidate in Arizona—a state which voted for Trump; or the passage of abortion rights laws in Nevada, Arizona’s, Montana and Missouri—all states which voted for Trump.
Perhaps the misogyny exists at the level of President. Or perhaps Harris was as poor a candidate in 2024 as she was in 2020: weak, vague, untrustworthy. Her selection of idiotic Tim Walz did not inspire trust either.
As a self-described snob John has no choice but to be a Democrat. To move right of the Party he would have to stop being a snob, and it's fun being a snob. You get to look down on the smelly idiot Walmart hoi polloi with your fellow elites and aspiring elites reading the New York Times in the morning and listening to NPR in the evening. You get caressed by your fellow academics and media types as long as you stay in the club. You drink better wine. There's a lot on the line.