Essentially, the obligation of conservative media is to question what's going on, and say, "Is this something that is the right thing to do? Is it something that's constitutional? Is it something that is even wise to do?" I think that's true regardless of who's in power.
Whether that's questioning the dominant opinion of the day, the conventional wisdom of the day, or whether it's questioning the policies that come out of Washington, or out of our government, generally, I think media's job is to look at it and say, "What's really going on here? What's the story behind what you see?"
I think what it really means is a recognition that Donald Trump has the potential to take over the Republican Party and change it into something that`s very different than what it`s been in the past. I don`t just mean in terms of tone. I mean in terms of policy, I mean in terms of every respect.
I think this is a moment where Donald Trump recognized the Republican establishment was much weaker, the party leaders were much weaker than they thought they were in terms of being able to dictate any outcomes.
I think Donald Trump is a pragmatic sort of populist and who tell people anything in any moment that he wants them to hear, if he thinks that it`s going to be to his advantage, that everything is going to reset in the general election, assuming that he is the nominee, and I think it will be interesting to watch how many people feel betrayed or conned with the game he played with the Republican Party at this point.
I think that [Chris] Christie`s endorsement is, you know, it`s a sign that - you know, he is who we thought he was in so many different respects. He`s someone who ambition is the only thing that I think is bigger than his appetite.I think in this case, it`s a situation where he saw the one guy who he thinks he can maybe get a cabinet post with if he wins in Donald Trump. I think, you know, he kind of went out the door doing a number of favors in beating up Marco Rubio the way he did.
To something that looks very different. The thing to understand here is that Donald Trump, Bernie Sanders, they're not the disease and they're not the symptom of the disease. They are the beta test of a cure for the perspective of the people.
What we're witnessing really is a political realignment, I mean I think we're moving from a traditional understanding of left-right politics that we've had for a long time.
I think that there is something that happens, a phenomenon that happens around a conspiracy theory, where if you believe in a conspiracy theory, then every critique of that theory is simply more proof that the conspiracy exists. And I think that that's something that goes on in the person of Donald Trump.
Few years ago [Donald] Trump was being roasted by Comedy Central. They always have rules about things that you can't joke about. Donald Trump's rule at that time, the only thing that you couldn't joke about was a suggestion that he has less money that he claimed to.
This is I think a dramatic point for conservatives. They are waking up to the fact that this guy, that Donald Trump has an ability to speak to people who they thought were theirs ideologically, people who they thought were a part of their team.
I think one of the things we have in this modern, individualistic age is a recognition that happiness can look very different for very different people. Happiness is not necessarily about how much money you make, happiness isn't necessarily about these aspects of your life.
Donald Trump came along and spoke in a language that speaks directly to a portion of the Republican base with what they want to hear. I don`t think that he actually has a very significant ideology.
And for those of us who have, you know, looked in sort of the established order of the political fray over the course of the past several years, it looks like chaos. But to the people I think it looks like democracy. And I think that that's something that really is moving us to a new reality, where the parties are going to have to retrofit themselves and adapt to this new realignment.
I think it`s a message of economic nationalism. It`s obviously one that has bubbled up before in certain pockets, but it`s never been the sort of powerful phenomenon that it is today.
Conservatives have woken up to the fact they weren`t part of their team and they have a capability of having the kind of message that [Donald] Trump is delivering reach them on a very direct and very personal level so that they sign up. They are willing to go out there and work for him.
