David Pakman

And if that's the standard, how do you even really disqualify a candidate?

You don't.

You can't.

And so, you know, in the Kinzinger thing, I am acknowledging is a little bit of a cop out because Adam Kinzinger said to me when he was on the show, if he got back into politics, he would actually

be a Democrat at this point, like his views are basically anathema to the Republican Party.

That's that's sort of a different story.

But these are the sorts of decisions that actually require a little more thought, a little more introspection.

Trump could nuke a country and I would still vote for Republicans over Democrats.

What are you really bringing to the table at that point in time?

And I would argue, in fact, that that's dangerous.

because if you have a system where voters impose no limits on their leaders, the leaders have no incentive to respect any limits themselves.

If Trump knows I have a base where I could, as he likes to say, shoot someone on Fifth Avenue or he could nuke someone or whatever, and they're still going to support me.

What is the incentive for Trump to try to build consensus or work and behave in a way

that actually comports with the law, the Constitution, the expectations and desires of the people that voted for him.

It's very ugly when you look historically over the last hundred and fifty years around the world, when the leaders stop being in any way accountable to the voters for their decisions, where they have their vote no matter what.

You know, some will see this and go, well, Trump can now have total conviction and he's operating from a place of strength because people won't get in his

No, no, no, no.

The fact that people won't hold him accountable and that there will be no consequences is an abandonment of judgment.

And it puts Trump in a position where he doesn't even have to sort of pretend to follow what the law is or what norms are.

And so, Megyn Kelly, you know, this entire I'm independent thing.