Some weeks ago, John McWhorter made a comment that seemed to imply he wished someone would assassinate Trump. In a subsequent subscriber-only Q&A episode, he clarified that that was in fact what he meant. He then apologized and admitted that he shouldn’t have said it in public. Then, on July 13, someone actually tried to assassinate Trump and came very close to achieving that goal. John and I knew we would have to address his comments again in light of this near-disaster. We do so in this episode. John avers that he shouldn’t have said what he said and that, indeed, he is relieved that Trump survived. That’s good enough for me. We’ve kept this conversation and intellectual partnership going for 17 years. I’m not going to destroy a friendship I value so highly over one instance of poor judgment.
So we talk about the assassination attempt. We also debate whether the MAGA position is too facile or whether it represents an intellectually respectable political critique of American elitism. With the chaos of the assassination attempt and Biden’s then-probable (and now definite) withdrawal from the election, I ask whether the summer of 2024 is reminiscent of the uncertainty of the summer of 2020. John theorizes that Corey Booker could make an appealing VP pick for Kamala Harris, but that pairing seems a little undercooked to me. We recorded this episode before Sunday’s announcement that Biden would indeed exit the race, but here John says it’s the right thing to do. And finally, are John and I going to need couples counseling to get past this assassination thing?
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2:19 John apologizes for his previous statement about Trump and assassination, and Glenn reaffirms their friendship
7:21 Glenn: “We literally dodged a bullet”
9:09 John: Going MAGA is taking the easy political route
11:06 Glenn: There are good reasons to support some of Trump’s policies, if not his rhetoric
18:57 Does the 2024 election have a “summer of 2020” vibe?
23:38 Ground News ad
25:58 The fantasy Kamala Harris / Corey Booker ticket
33:27 Is “Make America Nice Again” a compelling campaign message?
38:22 Is “Trump is a threat to democracy” a lexically inept slogan?
45:53 It’s time for Biden to step down
49:50 John: “I'm honestly glad the assassin missed”
54:49 Do Glenn and John need couples counseling?
Recorded July 20, 2024
Links and Readings
Andrew Napolitano’s conversation with John Mearsheimer
Andrew Napolitano conversation with Jeffrey Sachs
Evan Vucci’s iconic post-assassination attempt photo of Trump and Secret Service agents
John’s NYT column, “Why Are Democrats Speaking to America in Ancient Greek?”
George Orwell’s essay, “Politics and the English Language”
Larry Kotlikoff’s Substack post, “Biden Must Step Aside—This Week!”
Yascha Mounk’s Substack, Persuasion
Glenn’s conversation with Yasha Mounk
John McWhorter – America's Dodged Bullet