Podcast Summary – The Political Scene | The New Yorker

Episode Title: As Trump Faces Charges, Who Is in Control of the Republican Party?
Date: April 7, 2023
Participants: Evan Osnos (host), Jane Mayer, Susan B. Glasser

Overview

This episode dissects the fallout and significance of former President Donald Trump’s historic criminal arraignment. The central question: With Trump facing legal jeopardy and the GOP leadership fractured or absent, who actually steers the Republican Party now, and what does that mean for its future? The conversation unpacks Republican responses, the party’s shifting core, the McConnell-Trump split, and their broader implications for American democracy.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Trump’s Arraignment: The Spectacle and Its Meaning

• Media Coverage Fatigue

  • The panel critiques the wall-to-wall, step-by-step cable news tracking of Trump’s movements in New York (“breathless incrementalism”).
  • Quote – Susan Glasser (03:58):
    “Talk about breathless incrementalism…Literally, step by step, he's crossed the lobby, he's pressing the button of the elevator—news. Practically watching paint dry...”
  • Glasser highlights that, besides the indictment, there was little real news and more fascination with the spectacle.

• Grievance Politics

  • Trump and his allies leveraged the arraignment to claim victimhood and fundraise.
  • Quote – Susan Glasser (03:58):
    "For a man whose entire politics are around grievance, and if he doesn't have a grievance, inventing a grievance, well, here's a new grievance..."

2. Republican Leadership in Disarray

• “Vacuum at the Top”

  • Evan Osnos sets the stage: Party leaders were divided—some condemned the prosecution to appease Trump's base; others stayed silent.
  • Quote – Evan Osnos (02:57):
    “…a group of people struggling to make sense of their collective future, with or without Trump at the center.”

• No Defender of the Rule of Law

  • Jane Mayer points out the absence of any GOP leader defending the judicial process itself.
  • Quote – Jane Mayer (08:32):
    “Where was the person standing up and saying, this is the rule of law. Let the process run? We believe in the process. There was no defender of the rule of law in this country. That I heard anyway.”

• Republican Solidarity Behind Trump

  • Even past critics (e.g., Mike Pence, Mitt Romney) lined up behind Trump, criticizing the indictment as political.
  • The phenomenon of recurring brief “daylight” between Trump and Republican leaders, which quickly closes under pressure.

3. Who Drives the GOP—Leaders or the Base?

• “Running After the Base”

  • Party leaders, fearing their own base, continue to enable Trump.
  • Quote – Jane Mayer (10:52):
    “You can sort of see them running after the base. And I think you can see that the leadership is itself throwing in its lot with Trump...But they are enablers.”

• Superfans & Ideological Drift

  • Glasser argues the GOP is “even more extreme than the voters,” driven by its highly motivated, radicalized core.
  • Quote – Susan Glasser (11:28):
    “There's a fanatic core...the superfans, if you will, of Donald Trump, who are at the most motivated center...the leadership is even more extreme.”

4. Mitch McConnell’s Silence and Its Significance

• The McConnell-Trump Relationship

  • McConnell, the ultimate Republican institutionalist and rival to Trump, remained silent on the indictment (noting his post-concussion recovery).
  • His silence underscores both personal animosity and political calculation.
  • Quote – Susan Glasser (13:05):
    “At this point, Mitch McConnell is probably enemy number one for Donald Trump. And his animus towards Mitch McConnell is far greater than...almost all people, including Democrats.”

• McConnell as Party ‘Irreplaceable Man’

  • Glasser underscores his understated but critical role in government functioning, but questions how long he can continue given age and health.
  • Expansion on the “co-dependency” between McConnell (the establishment/“plutocrats”) and Trump (the demagogue/crowd-pleaser).

• Consequences of the Split

  • Losses in Senate races attributed to Trump’s election interference, which soured their relationship and cost McConnell power.
  • Leadership transition is looming, with younger, more Trump-aligned Senators gaining ground.

5. The GOP Agenda and Electoral Disconnect

• Leadership’s Rightward Lurch

  • The party's leadership is more extreme than its actual base on abortion, guns, culture wars.

  • Quote – Jane Mayer (25:32):
    “What you see on the Republican side is the Trumpist activists on many, many issues are out of touch with the vast majority of voters, including many Republican voters...”

  • Quote – Susan Glasser (26:50):
    “…the numbers are extraordinary. Something like 40% of Republicans...say that abortion should be legal in all or most cases...And yet…all across the south…they’ve now essentially made the South a no go zone for abortion.”

• Hostile Takeover of the GOP

  • The Trumpist wing has succeeded in taking control at the grassroots and state levels, transforming the party.
  • Nevertheless, a gap remains between Republican primary voters, state leadership, and the general electorate.

6. Party Extremism and Institutional Failure

• Comparing Party Movements

  • Both parties are more partisan, but the GOP’s movement is both sharper and further from its base.
  • Institutional checks that once pressed towards moderation are failing—the parties are now “accelerants.”

• Quote – Evan Osnos (31:22):
  “Our institutions, I mean, beginning with the parties themselves, are accelerants on the fire, that they used to have a modulating effect...but…now…there are large numbers of Americans who could reasonably be assembled around some consensus ideas, but there's nobody at the top who is waiting to hear from them.”

• Outcomes and Backlash

  • There are consequences—e.g. Dobbs and the 2022 midterms—for party overreach.
  • Yet, the effect is uneven, benefiting Democrats in swing states, but deepening the “national divorce” into culturally polarized, oppositional Americas.

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments (with Timestamps)

• On the media’s Trump obsession:
  "Breathless incrementalism…practically watching paint dry." – Susan Glasser (03:58)

• On the lack of support for the rule of law:
  "There was no defender of the rule of law in this country. That I heard anyway." – Jane Mayer (08:32)

• On Republican leaders and the base:
  "There go the people. I must follow them, for I am their leader." – Jane Mayer quoting (10:52)

• On Mitch McConnell’s uniquely fraught position:
  "At this point, Mitch McConnell is probably enemy number one for Donald Trump..." – Susan Glasser (13:05)

• On the party's radicalization:
  "The party is becoming even more extreme than the voters." – Susan Glasser (11:28)

• On party infrastructure and institutional failure:
  "Institutions...are accelerants on the fire...large numbers of Americans...could reasonably be assembled around some consensus ideas, but there's nobody at the top who is waiting to hear from them." – Evan Osnos (31:22)

Key Segment Timestamps

• Trump’s Arraignment, Media Coverage, Spectacle: 02:32–05:56
• Republican Leadership Reactions, Party in Disarray: 07:50–12:20
• Mitch McConnell’s Role and Silence: 12:20–22:34
• GOP and the Electorate: Disconnect on Issues: 24:46–30:27
• Institutional Failure and Party Extremism: 31:22–37:04
• Concluding Thoughts: 37:04–37:30

Tone and Takeaways

The episode is frank, at times sardonic, and laden with professional exasperation at both the Republican Party’s leadership vacuum and the news cycle’s obsession with Trump spectacle over substance. The panel’s analysis is steeped in deep knowledge of GOP politics and institutional dynamics, with a clear recognition of the gravity (and unpredictability) of this historical juncture.

Bottom Line:
The Republican Party remains gripped by Trump—and the most fervent cadres of his base—while institutional figures like McConnell, when not absent, are rendered nearly voiceless. The leadership is adrift and increasingly out of step with a broader electorate, raising big questions about democratic accountability, the future of the opposition, and the sustainability of “crazy” as a party brand.

Closing Thought – Jane Mayer (34:17):
“There are consequences when you overstep…there is reality out there. It sometimes takes a while for it to catch up with [you].”