To The Contrary with Charlie Sykes

Episode: Susan Glasser: Lame-Duck is Just Another Word for Nothing Left to Lose
Date: November 19, 2025
Guest: Susan Glasser, staff writer at The New Yorker

Episode Overview

This episode navigates a tumultuous week in Washington D.C., focusing primarily on Donald Trump’s handling of the Saudi crown prince MBS’s visit, the American response to authoritarianism, MAGA fractures, media hostility, the Epstein files vote, and the broader rise of far-right extremism. Host Charlie Sykes and Susan Glasser analyze the erosion of American political and institutional norms, dangers of a “lame-duck” presidency, and the consequences of unrestrained power.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. The Oval Office Meeting with MBS

(Starts ~03:33)

• Defending Authoritarianism:
  Trump receives MBS (Mohammed bin Salman) with a “royal welcome”, despite U.S. intelligence confirming his role in Jamal Khashoggi’s murder.
  Glasser describes witnessing Trump’s “standalone, breathtakingly awful moment” (04:33), specifically his casual dismissal of Khashoggi’s murder:

  “A lot of people didn’t like that gentleman. Right. Okay, great. So that’s what he said about the guy who was hacked up with a bone saw…” (04:41, Glasser)

• Attacking the Press:
  Trump berates ABC reporter Mary Bruce, calls for revoking ABC News’s license, and references controlling the FCC:

  “Your license for asking a question in the Oval Office should be revoked.” (05:24, recounted by Glasser) Sykes notes the chilling effect and resonance this has with dictatorial practices:
  “Who outside of places like the most authoritarian regimes… even thinks that way? Even Nixon would never have said that out loud.” (08:28, Sykes)

• Monetary Motives and “Red Carpet” Diplomacy:
  Glasser contends that Trump’s primary motivator is financial:

  “...the amount of sucking up… that Trump is willing to do for a guy he perceives to have money is really remarkable.” (10:08, Glasser) The discussion also critiques the gaudy redecoration of the Oval Office to impress MBS, which both agree symbolizes a deeper rejection of American modesty and institutional values:
  “It looks like a casino magnate’s version of what they think the White House should look like, except if you covered it in gold.” (13:55, Glasser)

2. Media Hostility and the Authoritarian Temptation

(Interwoven throughout, especially 05:00–09:00)

• Trump’s personal attacks and open threats against individual reporters and media organizations are examined as a watershed moment indicating authoritarian inclinations.
• Sykes points out the futility of appeasing Trump, as he will always escalate:

  “You cannot make yourself safer by appeasing him. There’s no middle ground.” (07:33, Sykes)

3. Trump as Lame Duck: Loss or Wildcard?

(30:46 on)

• The episode title reflects the thesis: “Lame duck is just another way of saying nothing left to lose.”
  Glasser warns:

  “Lame duck can be… a synonym for Donald Trump with even less of it giving a damn than he does now and even less constraints.” (32:32, Glasser)

• Sykes highlights the dangers:

  “He still holds… the buttons, he’s still got the levers of power. And… he’s got less to restrain him.” (33:23, Sykes)

4. Epstein Files Vote and Signs of MAGA Fracture

(17:17–28:00)

• Epstein Files:
  Congress votes almost unanimously to release the “Epstein files,” against Trump’s will. Trump's inability to stop the vote, despite previous successes intimidating institutions, is seen as significant:

  “Everybody else has caved. Big institutions, billionaires… Here we are.” (22:06, Sykes)

• MAGA Infighting:
  Marjorie Taylor Greene’s public critique of Trump is addressed. Both hosts are skeptical of her motives and warn against embracing her as a reformed figure:

  “She’s like a member of a meth gang and she’s turned on the meth boss not because she’s decided to become clean… but because she doesn’t think the meth boss is actually peddling pure enough meth.” (21:39, Sykes) “Is it a bad thing for her to go on CNN and say, I apologize…? No… But every single day we are living, we are swimming in rivers of hate and division and it’s a business model for her…” (24:54, Glasser)

• Extreme Partisanship and Redistricting:
  Glasser argues that partisan redistricting entrenches extremism:

  “It’s guaranteeing that there will be more incentives for people to be the kind of divisive… politicians, because that’s what this extreme form of redistricting does…” (26:00, Glasser) Sykes adds: “If in fact, the grassroots responds by increasing her fundraising, that’s a tell. If the local Republican Party rallies around her… that is a tell.” (28:24, Sykes)

5. Republican Party and Far-Right Extremism

(37:24–44:43)

• The normalization and mainstreaming of far-right antisemites like Nick Fuentes is discussed at length.
  Sykes:

  “…one of the big debates… is whether or not their tent is so big that they have to include neo-Nazis and anti-Semites… Nick Fuentes is now part of the conversation, which is ought to be terrifying…” (37:24, Sykes) Glasser points out the hypocrisy: “…these are the same people who campaigned in 2024 with this sanctimonious ‘we’re the party to stop antisemitism.’ But it’s totally fine to platform the actual anti-Semite…” (40:23, Glasser)

• The episode connects anti-immigrant rhetoric, white nationalism, and attacks on the “other” as part of a single phenomenon:

  “These are the same idea, is what I’m trying to say. These are the same idea.” (44:39, Glasser)

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Trump's threat to the press:

  “Just that sentence. Forget about the part where he’s defending the murder of a journalist, the part about demanding that the license be taken away of ABC… would be headline news under any president.”
  (05:24, Susan Glasser)

• On Trump’s respect for authoritarians:

  “There’s definitely a throughline that Donald Trump likes, emulates, admires people like MBS, who he thinks can do him favors.”
  (08:51, Sykes)

• On the ‘engulfication’ of the Oval Office:

  “It looks like a casino magnate’s version of what they think the White House should look like, except if you covered it in gold… in the same way that Trump himself is what the founders feared most.”
  (13:55–15:34, Glasser)

• On Marjorie Taylor Greene’s motives:

  “She’s obviously not looking at just staying in the House of Representatives… She’s looking at a statewide office, or wanting to play a different role in our politics.”
  (25:32, Glasser)

• On incentives for extremism due to redistricting:

  “It’s guaranteeing that there will be more incentives for people to be the kind of divisive… politicians, because that’s what this extreme form of redistricting does.”
  (26:00, Glasser)

• On a ‘lame-duck’ Trump:

  “Lame duck is just another way of saying nothing left to lose, right?”
  (32:48, Sykes)

• On the normalization of antisemites in the GOP:

  “I had thought that this had been litigated back in the 60s… but now… Tucker Carlson giving a very, very friendly interview to Nick Fuentes who’s a… Holocaust-denying neo-Nazi…”
  (37:24, Sykes)

• On the throughline of hate movements:

  “These are the same people who have unleashed violent, armed masked men in our society to pull… moms out of cars in the school drop-off line.”
  (44:18, Glasser)

• Closing optimism:

  “I thought we all understood that we were a nation of immigrants, stronger because of immigrants… I’m kind of clinging to that hope. Maybe we should end with that.”
  (46:21, Sykes)

Key Timestamps for Reference

• 03:33 — Episode main content begins, Trump-MBS meeting
• 04:33 — Trump’s Khashoggi defense dissected
• 05:24 — Trump threatens ABC News, context on press
• 10:00 — Discussion of Trump’s monetary motives & red carpet diplomacy
• 13:55 — The “engulfication” of the Oval Office and symbolism
• 17:17 — Shift to Epstein files vote and its fallout
• 21:39 — Marjorie Taylor Greene’s critique of Trump and ensuing analysis
• 24:54 — Business models of hate and division, incentive structures
• 26:00 — Redistricting creates more political extremism
• 30:46 — Lame duck dangers, “nothing left to lose”
• 37:24 — Far-right extremism and antisemitism’s rise in the GOP
• 44:39 — Linking anti-immigrant and white nationalist rhetoric
• 46:21 — Closing thoughts on hope and America as a nation of immigrants

Closing Note

Sykes and Glasser argue forcefully that “you are not the crazy ones” (per episode description) for being alarmed at current events. The episode is a call not just for vigilance but for a reassertion of American ideals against authoritarian drift, normalized corruption, and the mainstreaming of extremist views.

[Summary prepared in the original forthright tone of the speakers, preserving their directness, urgency, and moments of weary humor.]