What Really Matters with Walter Russell Mead

Episode: Xi, ICE, Iran, and the Tech Right
Date: January 26, 2026
Host: Jeremy Stern
Guest: Walter Russell Mead
Produced by: Tablet Magazine

Episode Overview

This episode explores significant developments in global and U.S. politics:

• Xi Jinping’s unprecedented military purge in China
• Violence and governance failures amidst the ICE/Border Patrol crackdown in Minneapolis
• Mass repression and staggering civilian death tolls in Iran
• The emergence of a “Tech Hamiltonian” alliance between tech elites and MAGA populism in American politics

Walter Russell Mead brings his trademark historical context, political skepticism, and dry wit to dissect these headlines and connect them to deeper trends shaping America and the world.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. China’s Military Purge and Xi Jinping’s Power (00:06–06:33)

• Incident: China’s top general, Zhang Yujia, extremely close to Xi, is ousted and accused of grave crimes amidst a wider crackdown in the People’s Liberation Army (PLA).
• Significance: Mead calls it “news—there’s no doubt about it,” highlighting the opacity of China’s elite politics and the implications for Xi’s leadership style.
• Historical Parallel: Mead compares it to Stalin’s purges—purging those he personally elevated, sowing distrust, and stifling dissent.
  “Will Xi Jinping move in the same direction? …Nobody is walking into his office to tell him things he doesn’t want to hear. That’s the kind of inner weakness… That plague of yes men.” (02:33)
• Effect on Taiwan: Tension rises over Taiwan. Xi may be cautious in the short term, but the risk is that insulated leadership could lead to rash decisions later.
  “You don’t launch a war the day after you purge the senior ranks of your military. There’s a little breathing space here…” (05:19)
• Quote:
  “Winston Churchill used to say about fights within the Soviet Communist Party that it’s like watching two dogs fighting under a rug. You know something is happening, but you have no idea what, until the bloody bones of the loser are thrown outside.” (01:44)

2. ICE, Border Patrol, and the Minneapolis Crisis (06:33–12:10)

• Situation: Two recent deaths (a protester and a nurse) at the hands of ICE and Border Patrol reflect a deepening crisis as federal agents clash with local resistance, amidst Trump’s hardline immigration enforcement.
• Training & Radicalization Problems:
  Mead criticizes the deployment of poorly trained, radicalized agents to complex situations.
  “They send in really pretty untrained people… Some of the, well, let’s use the word goofballs… have congregated heavily in the ICE area.” (08:10)
• Governance Failures All Around:
  Mead chastises both Trump’s administration for incompetence and Minnesota officials for neglecting duty to uphold federal law—while noting the high political costs.
• Trump’s Calculations: Trump is feeling political heat, possibly preparing to “throw some of the hotheads under the bus.”
• Quote:
  “President Trump made some mistakes. He put the wrong people in the wrong jobs, he let them go with the wrong marching orders, and bad things happened. And now he’s got to deal with it.” (11:35)

3. The Iranian Regime’s Bloody Crackdown (12:10–18:03)

• Fact Pattern: Reports indicate over 36,000 killed by Iran’s regime in just two days during the January protests—likely the most deadly such event in modern protest history.
• US Response?:
  Mead is skeptical that U.S. foreign policy will shift meaningfully for humanitarian reasons alone:
  “If people dying in conflict was the thing that launched American intervention, we would be all over Sudan right now… That’s not the moving force, and I don’t think it is here.” (14:23)
• Trump’s Dilemma:
  • Trump wants a “real deal” with Iran and is wary of destabilizing regime-change given ugly outcomes in Iraq and Libya.
  • The regime’s only staying power is “starvation by terror.” It could persist for years, like North Korea.
• Memorable Moment:
  “If the Ayatollahs go in Iran, does that just mean the nastiest guy in the IRGC ends up, like, running the show even worse than before? […] It’s a black box.” (15:58)

4. The Tech Hamiltonians—A New Political Coalition (18:03–34:20)

• Core Idea: Mead introduces the “Tech Hamiltonian” concept—a potential alliance between tech elites (Silicon Valley, etc.) and MAGA populists to secure U.S. technological dominance over China and the world.
• Historical Analogy:
  • References the 19th-century Homestead Act and Gilded Age industry: Modern tech leaders need political buy-in to match China’s scale and pace.
  • “What’s the Homestead Act for the age of tech?” (22:46)
• Why MAGA and Tech Might Align:
  • Tech giants care little about MAGA’s hostility to globalized trade or mass low-skill immigration—these are peripheral to their business models.
  • Both dislike unions, and tech’s core interest is intellectual property protection and American superiority—not cosmopolitan globalism.
  • MAGA populists provide voting power and nationalist zeal; tech elites bring innovation and capital.
  • “There are a lot of things that really get people’s blood boiling in MAGA that traditional business Republicans really feel a need to fight, that Trump Republicans and Hamilton techies are happy to let go.” (29:15)
• Patriotism as a Necessary Value:
  • Tech elites now need American universities and workers to embrace patriotism—so their tech isn’t sold to China.
  • “If IP is the core of your business… You want them to think [selling secrets] is wicked and despicable. So you may actually need a university system… [that] encourages a sense of patriotism among young Americans.” (33:00)
• Conclusion:
  Mead foresees the Tech Hamiltonian alignment shaping American politics—possibly beyond Trump himself.

Notable Quotes and Memorable Moments

• On Xi’s Purge:
  “You got some bloody bones on our hands and we can at least identify some losers. But this really is a big deal.” (01:50)
• On ICE Operations:
  “Given this challenge, they send in really pretty untrained people. [...] That spirit combined with poor training and inexperience is going to get you in trouble sooner or later.” (08:25)
• On US Policy Toward Iran:
  “I think President Trump, perhaps like a lot of Americans, has a pretty high tolerance for large death tolls in faraway lands.” (13:50)
• On Tech and MAGA Alignment:
  “How do you get popular consent for the policies that are likely to unleash the technologies that can make America ultimately richer…” (21:36)

Timestamps for Key Segments

• China’s Military Purge and Analysis — 00:06–06:33
• Minneapolis, ICE, and Immigration Crackdown — 06:33–12:10
• Iran’s Massacre and US Foreign Policy — 12:10–18:03
• The Tech Hamiltonian Theory — 18:03–34:20
• Book Recommendation and Close — 34:41–38:41

Book Recommendation (34:41–38:41)

Walter’s recent favorite novel:

• “The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay”
  • Mead was drawn to “the weird creation, often by kind of young Jewish kids, first and second-generation immigrants… of a kind of a synthetic mythos” in comic books.
  • He reflects on how mid-century American popular culture provided unity, now lost to fragmentation and endless movie franchises.
  • “These mythi really did help create a kind of a popular culture that reached across America and… gave a sense of unity to younger generations.”

Tone & Style

• Mead’s humor and erudition are on full display, mixing historical references with present-day analysis (“Churchill…dogs under a rug”; “Mythos, mythoses, mythi—whatever they are”).
• The conversation is direct, skeptical, and focused on the limits of both ideology and power—whether in Beijing, Washington, or Silicon Valley.
• Often, Mead refrains from easy answers—preferring to contextualize and raise unsettling questions about political and technological change.

For new listeners: This episode delivers a brisk, engaging, and informed tour through the week’s biggest global stories and offers a deeply original take on the new alignments shaping America’s future. Mead and Stern are essential guides for understanding “what really matters.”