This week we’re libing and learning with Pisco, who co-hosts Lib & Learn podcast, works as a lawyer, and can often be seen on Destiny’s stream. He wryly refers to himself as a Biden fan at the beginning of the episode — and we get into the outcome of the 2024 election, the future of the leftist leverage necessary to enact progressive policies, the nightmare Trump’s second admin is shaping up to be, and more. Watch below:

Pisco and Kyle get into the Trump versus Biden matchup and return to a central question we’re all asking on the left: Where is the dealbreaker for Trump’s stalwarts? It’s not the criminal charges nor the profoundly mishandled pandemic nor the promised return to American “greatness” that never materialized during the first administration; people still turned out for Trump in November of last year to vote him into the country’s highest office once again. In our analysis of Trump’s political strategy and prospects, we take another look at the seeming surprise of Trump’s deeply loyal and readily mobilized base, noting its contradictions and fractures as well as its successful cohesion despite a shambolic presidential campaign.

Like the Democrats, Republicans have their own big tent that brings a vast array of political tendencies into a single party. From the paleoconservatives to Wall Street libertarians, across major divides over economic policy, Republicans don’t adhere to a single form of conservatism; rather, interpretations of conservatism abound, without the party’s top brass demanding more coherence and structural integrity to the party. Take the ambiguity in the Republicans’ use of “populist” as a descriptor of their political project. If that word can be used to describe anybody from Steve Bannon to Vivek Ramaswamy, Elon Musk, and of course Donald Trump himself — all while ignoring the fact that these political figures actively reject popular policies for public welfare — it shows that the Republicans can serve up a broad span of austerity-focused policies while still applying a grassroots label.

We discuss these party schisms, the future of robber-baron Elon Musk in Trump’s admin, and much more. You can tune in to this podcast tomorrow on Spotify, Pandora, Apple Podcasts, and more. Thanks for listening!