In this Firing Lane episode,  Croaky delves into the dangers of dismissing inflammatory rhetoric as mere spectacle, particularly in today’s political climate, where theatrics often substitute for serious discourse. Croaky goes over JD Vance's poor performance in an interview with Jake Tapper where he dodges questions about John Kelly's comments on Trump praising Hitler and having fascist leanings and that Trumpers are trying to pretend was successful.  Croaky argues that passive acceptance of absurd or authoritarian rhetoric allows damaging ideas to take root. From Trump’s admiration for strongman leaders to the spectacle of political denials, this episode reminds listeners that true threats to democracy don’t always arise from calculated brilliance; sometimes, they emerge simply because a citizenry laughed when it should have looked closer. The issue isn't Trump but what complacency in the face of radicalism can lead to authoritarianism and not from Trump but from either the left or the right.