CARE TO ASK. I DO BELIEVE IT’S UNFAIR IF THEY
ARE INVESTIGATING BUT I HAVE NO
INDICATION THAT THEY ARE.
WITH ALL OF THAT AS A BACKDROP,
LET’S BRING IN NEW YORK
MAGAZINE’S EDITOR IN CHIEF.
THE MAGAZINE’S LATEST ISSUE
TAKES A HYPOTHETICAL LOOK AT
WHAT A SECOND TRUMP TERM MIGHT
LOOK LIKE AND WE CAN START WITH
YOUR MAGAZINE SAYING A SECOND
TERM WOULD MEAN FOR THE JUSTICE
DEPARTMENT BECAUSE RIGHT NOW,
IT’S PRETTY SHAKY.
IT’S A SHAKY TIME.
WHAT WOULD THE JUSTICE
DEPARTMENT LOOK LIKE UNDER A
SECOND TERM FOR TRUMP?
>> WELL, WHAT WE DID WITH THIS
PROJECT WAS INVITE A LARGE
NUMBER OF CONTRIBUTORS TO
ANALYZE THE TERM.
THEY WROTE ABOUT THE JUSTICE
DEPARTMENT AND I DON’T THINK
THAT SHE HAD A BOMBSHELL
REVELATION.
REVELATION. I THINK WHAT SHE PREDICTED WAS
THAT WHAT YOU’RE SEEING ESCALATE
IN THE LAST FEW MONTHS IF BARR’S
TENURE WOULD BE IN THE SECOND
TERM AND MUCH MORE A POLITICS OF
REVENGE AND THE -- THE DISTANCE
BETWEEN POLITICS AT THE WHITE
HOUSE AND ADMINISTERING OF
JUSTICE WILL COLLAPSE.
OBVIOUSLY SPEAKER PELOSI IS
WELL.
WELL. AND WHEN IT COMES TO SEEKING
RETRIBUTION.
RETRIBUTION. >> YOU JUST HAVE TO IMAGINE THAT
THAT WOULD BE HIS PRIMARY
MOTIVATION.
MOTIVATION. AND THAT’S A VERY PERSONAL
ATTITUDE TOWARD BUSINESS AND A
FOCUS ON THOSE THAT HAVE WRONGED
HIM AND SEEKING RETRIBUTION.
AND HE’S PROBABLY BOTH ANGRY AND
LIBERATED.
LIBERATED. >> JUST LOOKING AT THE MAGAZINE
STRESSES YOU.
STRESSES YOU. >> AND YOU HAVE AN ESSAY ABOUT
THE EXTRAORDINARY STRESS.
THAT WILL EMERGE.
WE’RE ALREADY IN A CIVIL WAR.
>> JUST FROM MY PERSPECTIVE AS A
MAGAZINE EDITOR I’M SURE THAT WE
CAN MAKE THE MAGAZINE AND PUT
HIM ON THE COVER AND EVERY ISSUE
THAT HE WARRANTS THAT FROM A
NEWS PER SPECKSPECTIVE BUT IT’S
EXHAUSTING FOR ALL OF US AS
JOURNALISTS AND READERS IT WILL
BE A STRESSFUL TIME.
MORE THAN HALF WOULD HAVE
ARRIVED WITHOUT THE POPULAR
VOTE.
VOTE. ALL OF THEM REPUBLICAN.
THAT WOULD BE A VERY DIFFICULT
SCENARIO TO RETAIN YOUR FAITH IN
THE DEMOCRATIC PROCESS.
>> SO LOOKING AT WHAT IS
HAPPENING NOW IN THE LEAD UP TO
SUPER TUESDAY LET’S TALK ABOUT
THAT REALITY.
THAT REALITY. PRESIDENT TRUMP WINNING A SECOND
TERM.
TERM. >> IT’S REAL.
IS IT NOT?
>> ABSOLUTELY.
>> ABSOLUTELY. IT’S SOMETHING THAT WE TALK
ABOUT ALL THE TIME.
ANYBODY THAT THINKS THAT
DEMOCRATS HAVE THIS IN THE BAG,
ESPECIALLY WHEN YOU LOOK AT THE
BATTLEGROUND POLLS, I MEAN THOSE
NUMBERS ARE NOT REAL RIGHT NOW
AND WE KNOW THAT THE TRUMP
CAMPAIGN HAS NOT SPENT THE REAL
MONEY THEY PLAN TO SPEND IN THIS
GENERAL ELECTION.
GENERAL ELECTION. TRUMP IS ON PACE TO APPOINT MORE
JUDGES THAN OBAMA DID IN HIS
FIRST TERM.
FIRST TERM. I’M WONDERING IF YOU CAN TALK
ABOUT THE REAL CONSEQUENCES.
WE TALK ABOUT THIS ALL THE TIME
BUT LET’S SAY THAT TRUMP GETS
REELECTED AND HE CAN FLIP THE
SUPREME COURT.
SUPREME COURT. HOW DO YOU SEE SOME OF THE
CONSEQUENCES PLAYING OUT IN A
TRUMP SECOND TERM?
IT’S VERY LIKELY AND JUST AS
CONVENTION SHL
CONVENTION SHL CONSEQUENTIAL IS THE NUMBER OF
APPOINTMENTS HE CAN MAKE ACROSS
THE SPECTRUM.
THE SPECTRUM. ONE THING THAT SET UP THE PIECE
IS HE POINTED OUT THERE’S SO
MUCH OF THE WORLD OF BUSINESS
THAT IS ASSUMING THAT HE WILL
ONLY BE A ONE TERM PRESIDENT SO
THERE’S A LOT OF BEHAVIOR
RESPONDING TO THE TRUMP
ADMINISTRATION THAT IS HEDGING
AGAINST A FOREVER TRUMPISM.
AND THAT BEHAVIOR WOULD PROBABLY
STOP AND YOU WOULD FIND, FOR
INSTANCE, AS JONATHAN WAS
WRITING THAT THE AUTOMOBILE
COMPANIES THAT CHOSE TO PUSH
BACK AGAINST HIS GUTTING OF THE
EMISSIONS STANDARDS, IN PART
THEY’RE DOING THAT BECAUSE THEY
JUST ASSUMED THAT WHAT HE WAS
DOING WAS A TEMPORARY MOVE TO
THE RIGHT AND THEY WOULD HAVE TO
HAVE A LONG-TERM PLAN TO GET
BACK.
BACK. THAT CALCULATION FALLS APART.
>> OKAY.
>> OKAY. THE NEW ISSUE OF NEW YORK
MAGAZINE IMAGINES WHAT A SECOND
TRUMP TERM WOULD LOOK LIKE.