David Pakman (32:23)
that we're in it. But you're in it. So you got to figure out how you have victory, because victory is what matters here. It would be catastrophic for us to not have victory in this. And I realize that may rub some people the wrong way, but that I think that's just a hard resource reality, what we have to deal with, Bannon's kind of saying, the whole idea of this Iran war is totally screwed up. But now that we're in it, if we lose the war, by whatever definition we're applying to that, we're really screwed. Now, Steve Bannon, you could say a lot of things about Steve Bannon. I think he's completely amoral, for example, but he's not a random critic and he's not a moron. He is one of the people who helped build Trumpism. So when Bannon says, I'm not happy we're in it, I don't think freedom isn't free, is landing with people. It's not resonating with people. This is a major red flag from inside of your movement, and it's about much more than just Iran, because the core of what Trump sold to his voters was, I'm a strong man, I'm alpha, I'm great. A lot of Republican Republicans run with that. That's not unique to Trump, but I'm going to be a Republican. That ends the Bush era formula of endless wars and patriotic slogans like freedom isn't free and making working people pay the price for your delusions. A huge part of the MAGA pitch was no more of that stuff. No foreign entanglements, no stupid wars. I never would have got into Iraq. Even though Trump previously said that, that he actually would have. So when Bannon goes, this isn't resonating. What he's really saying is the branding that Trump sold us, it doesn't match the product. And the interesting part is that Trump's coalition, I guess I would call it, has always had two instincts inside of it. There's been the nationalist, anti interventionist instinct, which is what Trump pushed. But Trump was pushing it rhetorically. And there was a wing that was genuinely suspicious of foreign wars, focused on borders, prices, the decline at home. Tucker Carlson is kind of in that wing. The other wing that ultimately came to support Trumpism is the old Republican hawkishness. But they put on the MAGA hat and they were attracted by military force. They were attracted by the performance of strength and military parades and actual military action abroad. Trump kind of kept those groups together because he made both of them believe he was on their side. This is sort of like, you know, take any issue on abortion. Do we punish the women? Well, you got to punish the women. Trump told Chris Matthews back during his first campaign. And then the next day the campaign goes, yeah, he didn't mean that. We got to punish the doctors. So if you want the women punished, you go, oh, Trump did say they should be punished if you want to punish the doctors. Trump said that too. And then on a later day, Trump goes, but you got to have some exceptions. So if you're for exceptions to no abortion, you've got that as well. For a while, Trump being the anti war guy, but appealing to the hawkish rah rah pro bombs people was able to work because he didn't immediately go in and start new wars. But then now he's doing it. And so now with Iran, once you're in a real war, you can't keep going. I'm the peace candidate. Now he's trying by saying, we need to do this to get to peace, or I'm getting involved to end a war that Iran started. I don't think his followers are believing that crap. And Steve Bannon understands something that a lot of Republicans don't, which is that it's less about Iran specifically, although I don't think any of them think going into Iran is worthwhile. It's about being betrayed because they came to believe that Trump was different and they are now reconsidering that. I don't believe that this means MAGA collapses tomorrow. We're doing an analysis. It doesn't mean this is it. A lot of these people are ultimately going to fall in line. They usually do. But there's a very real split here, and it matters because it shows that Trumpism was never a coherent governing philosophy. He was able to hold it together by a string with rhetoric where he would coalesce certain types of anger and grievances and anti war rhetoric. But he's also a macho natural nationalist, so he must also be kind of like George W. Bush. It all worked a little bit, but it was hanging by a thread and now it explodes. So one of the clearest signs that Trump's war with Iran is creating major problems domestically is that Bannon is going Freedom isn't free, just isn't landing. I'm not happy we're in it, but God forbid we lose, which is the next problem Trump is facing. It's not clear he can win this war, even by the standards he set. 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