Readers
Ryan Lizza, the independent journalist formerly of CNN and POLITICO, asked me to do an interview with him on Friday about my new column on the outcome of Tuesday’s elections. In this conversation I make several bold claims, such as:
Trump is unpopular and that’s why Republicans lost on Tuesday
If Trump continues to be unpopular, Republicans will struggle in the 2026 midterms
Realignments are realignments by definition only if they stick
People read way too much into narrow debates about ideology and issue positions after the 2024 election, blinding them to trends that would have helped predict 2025 (and 2026/28)
Anti-incumbent sentiment is currently the driving force in American politics
Democrats should think about politics not as happening on a 1-dimensional left-right ideological spectrum, but a cartesian plane with a vertical pro/anti-system axis too
I also reference data from my Tuesday column.
Have a nice weekend!
Elliott
