A Conservative on How His Party Has Changed Since 2016
About this episode
Guest host Jane Coaston asks Ben Domenech, co-founder of The Federalist, how the Republican Party changed after 2016. Domenech argues Trump shattered a stale conservative consensus on interventionist foreign policy, free trade, and fiscal restraint, channeling a base that felt culturally and economically dispossessed. He defends the populist turn as a necessary correction, describing new GOP factions — including what he calls 'Barstool conservatives' — as more culturally focused than policy-driven. Coaston challenges him on January 6, the party's tolerance of conspiracy theories, and whether the movement stands for anything beyond Trump himself. They discuss the 2024 primary and Ron DeSantis's struggles, plus China policy, where Domenech favors a hawkish posture. The exchange is substantive and occasionally pointed, with Domenech conceding some excesses while insisting the pre-2016 GOP cannot return.