David Pakman

But lately it's a little different.

And if you look past the public displays of fealty that are still there, the behavior of a lot of these people has changed.

You are seeing a more insurance mindset, a risk mitigation mindset from a lot of magas.

The big players are starting to build their own lifeboats.

J.D.

Vance is, you know, got Peter Thiel.

And there are many others, media people, et cetera.

They're kind of crafting their own messaging lanes.

They're cultivating donor bases like Marco Rubio.

They're carving out an identity that doesn't necessarily depend on Donald Trump.

And what they're fundamentally doing is testing the waters for when their audience is ready to say, all right, Trump's gone.

What do I respond to now?

What's going to keep me engaged in politics?

Now, look at the contrast of some of the people that are trying to position themselves for the future.

I mentioned J.D.

Vance.

He is in this kind of new right framework.

Peter Thiel, the techno libertarians.

And it's a different space than Trump occupies.

Marco Rubio, he's like a steadier kind of institutional Republican.