Is There Any Universe in Which Biden Would Pardon Trump BEFORE the Election?
I know this must be among the most incredibly stupid things you've ever heard, and let's make it clear that I an neither advocating not expecting this to happen. However… I think the majority of people can't believe that any high-ranking politician will ever actually be brought to justice. The powerful always protect the powerful.* So if Biden were to claim something like the integrity of the 2024 general election was more important than the Trump prosecutions, how would that shift each candidates' strategies and supporters? I can see it going many ways other than Biden immediately being forced to retire and locked up in his basement again. * There's zero doubt in my mind that whoever the next President is will immediately pardon Trump "so we can all move on."
Is Trump a harbinger of much worse times to come?
Hi guys, long time listener, new subscriber. I often hear the joke that America is currently replaying the fall of the Roman Empire. However, my fear is that instead of that being the truth, is that I see many more parallels to the Roman Republic in its twilight and Donald Trump as our Julius Caesar. Do you guys see any merit to that line of thinking? Or am I just a political doomer?
Cameras in the courtroom?
If the Trump indictment goes to trial, do you think they'll have cameras in court? I think they often don't (or maybe never do) in federal cases, but this case would (and should) be so impactful that the interest of public good would outweigh any other factors. I know Depp v. Heard was a civil case, but I think that showed how powerful having that level of transparency can be. If we're ever going to try and rebuild trust in our institutions I always feel like it will be through acts like this (not bogus hearings in Congress where they ask unanswerable questions and only get five minutes).
When boomers start to die off, will frustrated younger generations vote for dictatorship?
I should probably ask a producer-friendly question like, would you guys ever compete on Dancing with the Stars - but I just read about a large-scale survey, here in the UK, which found that 61% of 18-34s currently agree that “having a strong leader who does not have to bother with parliament and elections would be a good way of governing this country” while 46% agree that “having the army rule would be a good way of governing this country”. It seems these figures have more than doubled since 2017 and I dunno about you but I find this fucking terrifying! What do you think - would the results of this survey be similar in the USA, or worse? As boomers start to die off, will frustrated younger generations vote for dictatorship? And, more importantly... Would you guys ever compete on Dancing with the Stars?