After Trump’s tariffs took effect, I was eager to catch up with my friend Richard Hanania. I wanted to ask: Would he still vote for Trump?

Richard is one of the most influential political essayists of the moment. He’s wicked smart, relentlessly honest, and kind of quirky. His book, The Origins of Woke, is credited with seeding Trump’s anti-DEI executive order.

We had an impromptu, off-the-cuff conversation for thirty minutes before he had to leave for another meeting. The first half of this video is me talking to Richard; the second is me continuing the conversation with listeners.

During the election, Richard was clear-eyed about Trump’s issues but argued his economic and pro-science policies would more than offset those downsides.

“I made a huge mistake,” he admitted. “I said what I wanted to happen, and the opposite happened. I misread the situation.”

It made me feel vindicated for plugging my nose and endorsing Harris.

We also spoke candidly about JD Vance — his psychology, memes, and most-loyal-guy-in-the-room syndrome. A few other topics came up in the Q&A.

Thank you David Chapman, Matt Jones, Baz, John A. Johnson, Yusri, and many others for tuning into the live video.

ICYMI, you may enjoy my latest piece on late-stage-empire vibes: This is what late-stage empire feels like.

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