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Why Does Trump Still Have 44 Percent of Voters? Why Is Hillbilly Elegy Still Number One?

On this episode of Start Making Sense, Marc Cooper analyzes the GOP today, and Becca Rothfield examines J.D. Vance’s memoir.

Jon Wiener

August 21, 2024

Former US president and 2024 presidential nominee Donald Trump greets US Senator and vice presidential nominee JD Vance.(Jim Watson / AFP via Getty Images)

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Why does Trump still have 44% of voters? Why is ‘Hillbilly Elegy’ Still Number One? | Start Making Sense
byThe Nation Magazine

As the Democrats meet to celebrate Kamala, Trump seems disoriented and unsure what to do next. Nevertheless he’s holding on to 44% of the electorate. How come? Marc Cooper has our analysis.

Also: Kamala may be rising in the polls, but the Number One nonfiction bestseller in America is still “Hillbilly Elegy” by J.D. Vance. Luckily for us, Becca Rothfeld has read it, so we don’t have to. She’s nonfiction book critic for the Washington Post.

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As the Democrats meet to celebrate Kamala, Trump seems disoriented and unsure what to do next. Nevertheless he’s holding on to 44 percent of the electorate. How come? Marc Cooper has our analysis.

Also: Kamala Harris may be rising in the polls, but the number-one nonfiction bestseller in America is still Hillbilly Elegy by JD Vance. Luckily for us, Becca Rothfeld has read it, so we don’t have to. She’s nonfiction book critic for The Washington Post.

The Nation Podcasts

Here's where to find podcasts from The Nation. Political talk without the boring parts, featuring the writers, activists and artists who shape the news, from a progressive perspective.

A Year of Resistance—In the Streets, in Elections, and in the Courts | Start Making Sense
byThe Nation Magazine

The year in politics: Harold Meyerson of The American Prospect comments on Trump’s collapsing support in 2025, and the rise of the resistance—in both the unprecendented national mobilizations culminating in the second No Kings Day, and the Democratic triumph in virtually all elections in 2025.

Also: the year in court: David Cole, who stepped down this year as national legal director of the ACLU, reviews the 149 rulings against Trump in federal courts this past year, and the 21 times the Supreme Court has supported his attacks on democracy.

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Jon WienerTwitterJon Wiener is a contributing editor of The Nation and co-author (with Mike Davis) of Set the Night on Fire: L.A. in the Sixties.


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