You are using an outdated browser.
Please upgrade your browser
and improve your visit to our site.
Skip Navigation
PODCAST

Trump Allies Rage at Each Other as Latest Pick Too Nutty Even for MAGA

As the infighting in Trumpworld turns vicious and his latest appointment is too extreme for MAGA, a political scientist explains how he’s already overreading his mandate—and why that’s so dangerous.

Donald Trump in his red MAGA hat looking down
Brandon Bell/Getty Images
President-elect Donald Trump

Donald Trump’s top allies are already furiously at war with each other over the transition, according to The Washington Post. Meanwhile, Trump just tapped anti-Islam extremist Sebastian Gorka for a big national security role, and that’s angering even some in MAGA. Trump is so certain he won a massive mandate that he doesn’t feel obliged to run a smooth transition or refrain from appointing wildly extreme people. We chatted with political scientist Julia Azari, author of a great new piece on presidential delusions about mandates. Azari explains why mandates are usually illusory, how Trump is grotesquely overreading his victory, and why it all bodes badly for what’s to come. Listen to this episode here. A transcript is here.