Podcast Summary: The Next Level
Episode: 1065 – Even Trump’s Cheerleaders Are Saying “Oops”
Hosts: Sarah Longwell, Tim Miller, Jonathan V. Last (JVL)
Date: March 20, 2026
Overview
In this episode, Sarah, Tim, and JVL dissect the rapid unraveling of the Trump presidency’s second term, with particular focus on the growing chorus of disillusionment from former Trump supporters, the chaos of the escalating Iran conflict, and the economic and social shocks reverberating across the globe. Through their signature blend of sharp analysis and biting banter, the hosts grapple with the moral, political, and practical fallout of “stove touching” – allowing the nation to feel the consequences of its electoral decisions. The episode is a sometimes-dark but always insightful reckoning with the disastrous state of national and international affairs in Trump’s America, and what could lie ahead for the Republican Party and the country itself.
Key Themes & Discussion Points
1. Trump-Aligned Intellectuals’ “Oops” Moment
Timestamps: 01:57–03:05
- JVL notes a visible change among conservative intellectuals who previously championed Trump, highlighting Christopher Caldwell and Sohrab Ahmari’s recent turnabouts.
- JVL (02:00): “In the last 48 hours, two of my former friends, Christopher Caldwell and Saurabh Omari, … have all of a sudden gone, oops. And it’s so fucking delicious.”
- Despite their regretful tone, JVL laments they never utter a proper apology:
- JVL (02:36): “None of them say the two words I want to hear. I’m sorry. My b. I just want to hear it.”
- Sarah references everyday voters who have reconsidered their Trump support:
- Sarah (02:43): “That lady at the gas station who was like, 'I guess I’m a fucking idiot.' That’s all I want to hear… I’ll forgive you if you just say you’re a fucking idiot on TV.”
2. The Global Fallout from the Iran War
Timestamps: 03:05–07:45; 09:06–13:59
- Spiraling conflicts:
- Soaring oil (over $108/barrel) and gas prices, with the global average for gasoline set to hit $4/gallon.
- Key energy infrastructure destroyed, including Qatar’s LNG field (responsible for 20% of global supply, with 4-5% of world supply lost for years).
- Israeli strikes, Iranian retaliation, stealth fighter incidents, and mounting chaos.
- The hosts discuss America "touching the stove" — the idea of letting voters experience the direct consequences of their choices, although with mounting concern about how catastrophic those consequences could become.
- JVL (04:13): “This is the fucking stove. Touch it. Touch it. America.”
- Tim (07:28): "We do want a modest amount of stove touching. We want people to learn the lesson that hiring these jackasses to run the country is a really bad idea…But the scale of the disaster is getting out of hand."
- Sarah (09:28): “There’s a reason why I can’t be gleeful about it… I don’t think that people have really – it’s set in for people, like, just how bad things are going to get… this war is by far the worst thing that he has done in the two terms… this is gonna affect everybody’s life.”
Economic Shockwaves
- Disrupted supply chains impact not just fuel but the cost and availability of things like fertilizer and generic drugs (due to blockages in the Strait of Hormuz).
- JVL (12:08): “Our colleague Katherine Rampel… Generic drug prices gonna go way up. You know why? … a lot of the chemical precursors have to go through the Strait of Hormuz to India, where generic drugs are made.”
- Sarah (12:24): “Yeah, horrible…”
- Broader global effects:
- Damage to Latin America, Japan, South Korea, and extensive suffering in Europe.
- Sarah (13:05): “How do you think Europe’s gonna feel … when they have economic pinches that are all the result of our president’s stupid war in Iran?”
3. Discussing the Limits and Dangers of “Stove Touching”
Timestamps: 13:59–19:34
- The hosts debate whether national calamity is necessary for Americans to abandon Trump — and just how much devastation might be too much.
- JVL (15:49): “I’m interested in third degree burns and the house going down in flames… Because a million people died in America from COVID and it wasn’t enough.”
- Tim (19:13): "Ideally what you would get is enough negative consequences that people see Donald Trump as a failure without the consequences being so catastrophic that America can't recover from them. And I think we're starting to take that risk."
- Anxiety arises about how Trump might react if the economic elite abandon him, given his volatility and penchant for escalation.
- Sarah (16:40): “How do you think he is gonna react when the precious market tanks, when the economy tanks, when all of his rich buddies…are gonna feel when their funding dries up? Trump is going to… be in the type of corner that I don’t think we want him to be in.”
4. GOP & MAGA Future: The JD Vance Problem
Timestamps: 26:26–31:31
- Political repercussions for the next generation of MAGA leaders, particularly J.D. Vance, whose aspirations could be dashed by public association with the war.
- Tim (27:54): “JD Vance needs Donald Trump to…be done as quickly as possible and maybe, like, take over before Donald Trump’s term has ended because otherwise…his star is fading fast.”
- The “America First” faction, the uneasy MAGA coalition, and fractures within GOP over foreign policy.
- Tim (28:54): “Trump’s heirs, the next generation, they were formed in the fire of Trumpism. Like, this is not going away… even can [Vance] be the heir apparent to Trump, let alone do what Trump did in holding this coalition together?”
5. Absurdities and Distractions: Coins, Memes, and Ballrooms
Timestamps: 31:38–35:37
- Trump’s vanity projects continue amid crisis: a commemorative 24-karat gold coin, government focus on “banger memes,” and speculative plans for grandiose renovations.
- JVL (31:59): “The proposal calls for a 24 karat gold coin depicting Trump leaning on a desk with clenched fists…”
- Sarah (32:32): “Two weeks ago… I’d want Donny Trump focused on the coin and the East Wing renovation… but it doesn’t seem like it’s distracting him. He’s managed to do the coin and destabilize the entire global economy…”
- Tim (34:07): “He’s going to build all this stuff, and we are… it is going to be fun… when the world has settled on the fact that Donald Trump was an enormous failure… and then we just start tearing it all down.”
- Running joke and serious policy suggestion that Democrats should pledge to physically dismantle Trump’s architectural legacies.
6. “Are We the Baddies?” – Wrestling With American Identity
Timestamps: 45:05–50:54
- In light of America’s global actions, the hosts grapple with patriotism and what it means to “root for America” when it is acting as “the bad guys.”
- JVL (45:18): “How are we supposed to root for America when we’re now the baddies?”
- Sarah (46:58): “How can you make the case that what America is doing is good right now? Like, you really can’t… no, we are. We're bad. And it’s hard to deal.”
- Tim (48:25): “[We must] draw the contrast between what we are doing right now and who we are supposed to be… my hope… is that because Trump shows us who we don’t want to be, America rediscovers what it does want to be in contrast.”
- Tim invokes Bill Clinton (49:15): “There is nothing wrong with America that can't be cured by what is right with America.”
Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments
- Sarah, on the costs of Trump’s war:
- “This war is by far the worst thing that he has done in the two terms. And that includes the COVID response. The insurrection... But for regular people’s lives… this is gonna affect everybody’s life.” (09:28)
- JVL, on the lack of genuine MAGA repentance:
- “None of them say the two words I want to hear. I’m sorry.” (02:36)
- Tim, on the risks of letting disaster play out:
- “We might be moving into a new, protracted, totally destabilized Middle East… the people who are running the country both lie to us at every turn…” (07:46)
- Sarah, on the new head of Homeland Security:
- “Marquane Mullen. He’s three and oh. In MMA in the Tulsa Semi Pro MMA League… he’s gonna be in there making sure the tourists don’t do anything to us. So that’s good.” (23:12)
- JVL, on COVID and American priorities:
- “A million people died in America from COVID and it wasn’t enough. Because three years later, two years later, the country was like, yeah, sure, let’s try this shit again.” (15:49)
- Sarah, confronting American actions:
- “I want us to fuck it up because we deserve it, and then hopefully we can earn people’s trust back. But… we are. We’re bad. And it’s hard to deal.” (47:56)
- Tim, optimistic but wary:
- “One of my big, fervent hopes in this moment is that because Trump shows us who we don’t want to be, that America rediscovers what it does want to be in contrast.” (49:40)
Segment Highlights & Timestamps
- 01:57–03:01: Trump’s former intellectual cheerleaders’ sudden regrets
- 03:05–07:45: Breakdown of global economic and military fallout
- 09:28–13:59: Ripple effects on the economy, global supply, and U.S. society
- 15:49–19:34: Philosophical debate over necessary scale of “stove touching” pain
- 26:26–31:31: What becomes of MAGA next – The J.D. Vance dilemma
- 31:38–35:37: Trump’s distraction projects and fantasies, reflections on future detoxification
- 45:05–50:54: Wrestling with patriotism and national self-perception amid wrongdoing
Tone and Style
The hosts maintain their irreverent, candid tone, leveraging gallows humor and direct, unsparing language. They seamlessly pivot from policy analysis to inside jokes and personal anecdotes, making the gravity of current events digestible but never trivialized. There’s a palpable undercurrent of frustration and dark optimism, notably from Sarah and Tim, contrasted against JVL’s provocatively doomsaying posture.
Summary Takeaway
This episode of The Next Level is a bracing, funny, and at times bleak reckoning with the magnitude of current crises spawned by the Trump administration. The hosts blend alarm, sarcasm, and weary hope, exposing the shifting moods among Trump’s former allies and the broader electorate, while wrestling with what it means to love a country veering so starkly off course. From oil shocks and meme propaganda to the uncertain futures of would-be Trump heirs, they leave listeners with hard questions about accountability, patriotism, and the possibility of recovery once the “stove” has burned the nation’s hand deeply enough to learn — but hopefully not to destroy.