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I Should've Seen It Coming | Bill Kristol
Wednesday, 1 October, 2025
Conservative intellectual and Bulwark editor-at-large Bill Kristol joins hosts Josh Eakle and Max Marty to discuss his evolution from Republican insider to principled opponent of authoritarianism. Former chief of staff to Vice President Dan Quayle and architect of neoconservative foreign policy, Kristol reflects on how the party he helped shape for decades succumbed to populist demagoguery — and why he didn’t see it coming. The conversation explores whether the Reagan-Bush conservative movement was actually an historical aberration, masking deeper nativist currents that Trump successfully unleashed. Kristol argues that decent people across the political spectrum must band together against authoritarianism, just as classical liberals and social democrats united against fascism and communism in the 20th century. Topics Discussed: * The journey from supporting Sarah Palin to becoming a Never Trumper — and why January 6th was the point of no return * How the Tea Party movement evolved from fiscal conservatism to proto-MAGA populism * Why immigration became the sleeper issue that reshaped Republican politics, even among affluent cruise-goers * The three-legged stool’s collapse: how social conservatives, foreign policy hawks, and business elites all capitulated to Trump * America First’s dark historical echoes and the return of 1920s-30s nativist isolationism * Why ex-Republicans have unique credibility in warning about authoritarianism — the “Whittaker Chambers effect” • How Trump inadvertently pushed Democrats toward free trade and internationalism * What Democrats can do to welcome center-right refugees without overthinking coalition politics Links & Resources: * The Bulwark* Defending Democracy Together – https://www.defendingdemocracytogethe...* Project Liberal – https://www.projectliberal.org* Become a Project Liberal member – https://projectliberal.org/member Get full access to Project Liberal at projectliberal.substack.com/subscribe
