Trump Versus the Sharks
On this episode of The Time of Monsters, Chris Lehmann on how gibberish resonates with the MAGA base.
The Nation Podcasts
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Trump Versus The Sharks with Chris Lehmann | The Time of Monsters
On this episode of The Time of Monsters, Chris Lehmann joins Jeet Heer to discuss Trump's obsession with sharks.
Donald Trump does not like sharks. During his memorable encounter with Stormy Daniels, he fixated on a documentary about the predator that was playing on the hotel television and muttered, “I hope all the sharks die.” The former president returned to this topic at a recent campaign rally where he went on bizarre and lengthy digression asking what would be worse, being electrocuted or being eaten by a shark? Trump said he thought a shark attack would worse.
It's easy to dismiss Trump’s rantings as mere gibberish but my Nation colleague has written incisively on how this rhetoric should be understood not as logic but as an emotional and religious appeal. Chris joined me to talk about Trump’s appeal to his MAGA base. We also take up how Trump is increasingly aligned with Christian nationalism (a topic Chris wrote about here) and how the mainstream media doesn’t offer enough cultural context to make clear just how dangerous Trump’s rhetoric is.
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Former president Donald Trump speaks at a rally at Sunset Park on Sunday, June 9, 2024, in Las Vegas.
(Madeline Carter / Las Vegas Review-Journal / Tribune News Service via Getty Images)Donald Trump does not like sharks. During his memorable encounter with Stormy Daniels, he fixated on a documentary about the predator that was playing on the hotel television and muttered, “I hope all the sharks die.” The former president returned to this topic at a recent campaign rally where he went on bizarre and lengthy digression asking what would be worse, being electrocuted or being eaten by a shark? Trump said he thought a shark attack would be the worst way to go.
It’s easy to dismiss Trump’s rantings as mere gibberish, but my Nation colleague has written incisively on how this rhetoric should be understood not as logic but as an emotional and religious appeal. Chris joined me to talk about Trump’s appeal to his MAGA base. We also take up how Trump is increasingly aligned with Christian nationalism (a topic Chris wrote about here) and how the mainstream media doesn’t offer enough cultural context to make clear just how dangerous Trump’s rhetoric is.
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.
The Roots of Trump’s Foreign Policy Instability | The Time of Monsters With Jeet Heer
Donald Trump’s foreign policy has been as unstable as the man himself, shifting quickly from
pushes for restraint to escalating wars in the Middle East. This volatility is a function not just of
Trump’s personality but the contradictions and competing factions that are gathered under the
term America First, as well as the continued power of the foreign policy establishment that
Trump has claimed he defeated but which maintains a strong capacity to shape policy. To talk
about Trump’s foreign policy and the factional battles that have bedevilled his administration, I
spoke to Justin Logan, director of defense and foreign policy studies at the Cato Institute.
In particular we take up the attacks on Elbridge Colby, the under-secretary of defense for
policy. Colby was the subject of a Politico hatchet job which claimed he was running a rogue
foreign policy. Justin critiqued this analysis here.
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