A new year is before us, and soon, a new president will assume office. What does the future have in store? Trump supporters are happy, and his opponents are full of foreboding. Many people also feel that a new era in American history is about to begin — for better or worse.

Damir Marusic and Santiago Ramos discuss the nature of this new era. They begin with the question of fear: Are you afraid of the second Trump term? Santiago explains why the Trump phenomenon seemed more frightening in 2016 than it does in 2024. Damir asks whether finding historical analogues for Trump actually illuminates anything about the man, and makes him less scary.

Santiago then asks Damir about two of his latest pieces for Wisdom of Crowds, in which Damir seems almost giddy about the collapse of the liberal establishment and Trump’s rise. What exactly is Damir happy about? What good does he see coming from this historical moment? What is changing? While not defending Trump himself, Damir argues that Trump’s crushing of liberal illusions, and the exposure of the hypocrisy of our political class, are good things. What he hopes for is a new “positive program of skepticism and humility,” and a more limited version of liberalism.

In the course of the conversation, Damir and Santiago cover wide variety of topics: Damir’s newfound conservatism; Trump and Andrew Jackson; Kissinger on Trump; the USA and Latin America; NATO; Greenland; and the Cold War. Because this is our first podcast of the new year, and season-opener of sorts, we are making this episode free for all subscribers.

Required Reading and Listening:

* Damir, “The feeling of limitless possibility ahead of Trump's inauguration is dizzying” (WoC).

* Damir, “The Peasants, the People and God” (WoC).

* Santiago on Latinos and the election (Commonweal).

* Santiago on Trump and Latin America (Commonweal).

* Black Mirror episode Santiago mentions: “The Waldo Moment” (IMDB).

* Henry Kissinger: “I think Trump may be one of those figures in history who appears from time to time to mark the end of an era and to force it to give up its old pretences” (Financial Times).

* Jason Willick on Trump and Andrew Jackson (Washington Post).

* Samuel Goldman on why the US is more like Latin America than Europe (The Week).

* Antonio García Martínez on why the US is like Brazil (X).

* Our podcast episode with Yuval Levin (WoC).

* Video of Trump and Stoltenberg (YouTube).

* Jon Stewart on Nancy Pelosi’s “legal corruption” (The Wrap).

This post is part of our collaboration with the University of Pittsburgh’s Center for Governance and Markets.

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