Will Saletan

Never mind all of the rules that were established about who has the right to have access to these payment systems, who established these programs. I won this one election and therefore anybody I choose, I can send in to run the government. So it's kind of democracy because he got elected, but it's illiberal democracy and it's anti-rule of law democracy.

Never mind all of the rules that were established about who has the right to have access to these payment systems, who established these programs. I won this one election and therefore anybody I choose, I can send in to run the government. So it's kind of democracy because he got elected, but it's illiberal democracy and it's anti-rule of law democracy.

Never mind all of the rules that were established about who has the right to have access to these payment systems, who established these programs. I won this one election and therefore anybody I choose, I can send in to run the government. So it's kind of democracy because he got elected, but it's illiberal democracy and it's anti-rule of law democracy.

It is authoritarianism with one election behind it.

It is authoritarianism with one election behind it.

It is authoritarianism with one election behind it.

Wait, can I pull on your thread there a minute about Hungary? Yeah. Because there's a direct connection here with USAID, right? The Orban regime and the Putin regime hate USAID and they've like spoken out against it and they don't like this whole, you know, what are you guys doing promoting civil society and other, you know, you're interfering in our internal affairs.

Wait, can I pull on your thread there a minute about Hungary? Yeah. Because there's a direct connection here with USAID, right? The Orban regime and the Putin regime hate USAID and they've like spoken out against it and they don't like this whole, you know, what are you guys doing promoting civil society and other, you know, you're interfering in our internal affairs.

Wait, can I pull on your thread there a minute about Hungary? Yeah. Because there's a direct connection here with USAID, right? The Orban regime and the Putin regime hate USAID and they've like spoken out against it and they don't like this whole, you know, what are you guys doing promoting civil society and other, you know, you're interfering in our internal affairs.

So undermining USAID in particular on Trump's part is part and parcel of his, you know, de facto alliance with the authoritarians of the world, right? Here's this annoying agency.

So undermining USAID in particular on Trump's part is part and parcel of his, you know, de facto alliance with the authoritarians of the world, right? Here's this annoying agency.

So undermining USAID in particular on Trump's part is part and parcel of his, you know, de facto alliance with the authoritarians of the world, right? Here's this annoying agency.

Yeah, right, right. There's an absolutely direct connection. I mean, USAID basically does, you know, good things liberals like. The whole idea of international development is like something. Trump's isolationism, America first, a lot of it is we're tired of being the good guys. We're tired of like giving things to other people. We're tired of helping other people.

Yeah, right, right. There's an absolutely direct connection. I mean, USAID basically does, you know, good things liberals like. The whole idea of international development is like something. Trump's isolationism, America first, a lot of it is we're tired of being the good guys. We're tired of like giving things to other people. We're tired of helping other people.

Yeah, right, right. There's an absolutely direct connection. I mean, USAID basically does, you know, good things liberals like. The whole idea of international development is like something. Trump's isolationism, America first, a lot of it is we're tired of being the good guys. We're tired of like giving things to other people. We're tired of helping other people.

We're just going to focus on helping ourselves. And while we're at it, we're going to dismantle this agency that annoys our authoritarian friends.

We're just going to focus on helping ourselves. And while we're at it, we're going to dismantle this agency that annoys our authoritarian friends.

We're just going to focus on helping ourselves. And while we're at it, we're going to dismantle this agency that annoys our authoritarian friends.

Yeah, absolutely. So let me just sort of sketch. I know you and Scott are going to do the economics of this. Just want to do the geopolitics at this. There's the NATO threatening to pull out of NATO, which is, you know, I'm abandoning Article 5. I won't defend you. There's the EU. Trump just said twice in the last like three days. He said, am I going to impose tariffs on the European Union?

Yeah, absolutely. So let me just sort of sketch. I know you and Scott are going to do the economics of this. Just want to do the geopolitics at this. There's the NATO threatening to pull out of NATO, which is, you know, I'm abandoning Article 5. I won't defend you. There's the EU. Trump just said twice in the last like three days. He said, am I going to impose tariffs on the European Union?