John is joined by two-time Pulitzer Prize-winning New York Time scribe Michael S. Schmidt on the eve of Donald Trump’s second inauguration to discuss the road ahead. Proceeding from the premise that what Trump says matters less than what he actually does, Schmidt details the myriad ways in which 45/47 attempted to weaponize the government against his enemies in his first term; analyzes the confirmation hearing of Trump’s AG nominee, Pam Bondi, and public statements of FBI director-designate Kash Patel through that lens; and revisits his story last fall in which Trump's former chief of staff, General John Kelly. described Trump as a “fascist” and wannabe dictator. Schmidt also dishes on Zero Day, a Netflix limited series dropping in February that Mike co-created starring Robert DeNiro as an ex-president called back into service to deal with the fallout of a global cyberattack.

To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices