Jonathan Chait

You can't actually make people's lives better.

All you can do is spread anger.

It's not a good tool for improving anybody's lives, these kinds of authoritarian policies.

Methods that have been overtaking their Republican Party are only good for shutting down dissent and gaining power and corruption and self-enrichment.

They're not conducive to effective government.

So that's really like a meta-philosophical debate I have.

And so sometimes people on the left get frustrated that I will criticize the left and see that at odds with the anti-authoritarian project.

And I see it as part of the anti-authoritarian project.

It was not a recommendation and I wasn't really trying to suggest that AOC has that authoritarian impulse in her.

I don't see her as being really illiberal or authoritarian.

I think she has some ideas I don't approve of, but I don't think she's dangerous.

Yeah.

I mean, I think there are illiberal currents on the left, but I don't really associate her with that.

Donald Trump has won two out of three elections.

The first one extremely narrowly with a negative national majority, and the third one somewhat narrowly but with a plurality.

He is not a popular politician.

He's not a good politician.

He's not a smart politician.

I think to the extent that he's managed to be successful, he's been lucky, and he has benefited from failings by the Democratic Party.

And I think it's important to understand that because I think some people on the left think his success means everything he's done is smart and therefore should be emulated by the opposing side, which is not the correct lesson.