On Thursday, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt delivered one of her most obsequious, fawning tirades about President Trump yet. She credited him with single-handedly resolving a half-dozen major geopolitical conflicts around the world and angrily asserted that it’s high time Trump is granted the Nobel Peace Prize. It’s no accident that this came amid new polling evidence that Trump’s coalition is falling apart in a freshly dangerous way for him, as documented in a great new piece by New Republic senior editor Alex Shephard. In today’s episode, Shephard explains how the numbers show key constituencies getting away from Trump. We discuss all the ways Leavitt’s North Korea–style propaganda actually works against Trump by reinforcing the emperor-has-no-clothes vibe around him, why the press is reluctant to tell the truth about his unpopularity, how Democrats need to stop treating him as if he’s invincible, and what that should look like. Listen to this episode here. A transcript is here.
PODCAST
Trump Press Sec’s Weird Fawning Rant Goes Awry as Poll Slide Worsens
As Karoline Leavitt unleashes some of her most obsequious flattery of Trump yet, the author of a new analysis of Trump’s sliding numbers explains why his coalition is collapsing—and how Dems should exploit it.
Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt in Washington, D.C., on July 21
