Sarah Longwell Knows the Cheat Code to Politics
5/4/202654 min
Sarah Longwell listens to voters. As a GOP strategist and pollster who felt herself languishing in the wilderness as Trump 1.0 took root, she founded “The Bulwark” in 2019 with a stated mission “to put country over party... and to build a home for the politically homeless.” This masthead has become a movement, and Sarah, its fearless leader, sees defending democracy as the quintessential goal. After leading voter focus groups for the last eight years, Sarah understands that what matters in the beltway ‘bubble” rarely translates to what matters to America’s median voter, and why Trump’s approval is flailing: “People know that the tariffs are Trump’s, people know that the Iran war is Trump's... and that it is raising their prices, and that is what they are mad about.” Sarah uses these insights to chart a path for how Americans can move past the MAGA movement and take the “weird” out of government again. She joins Nicolle for a conversation about the power of simply listening to voters, how the two wings of the MAGA movement are fraying, and what Democrats can do to capitalize on Trump’s failures.
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First 90 secondsSpeaker 00:00
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Sarah Longwell· Guest0:14
This is one of the reasons that Trump's numbers are starting to fall, and where the objective reality kicks in, is that people know that the tariffs are Trump's. People know that the Iran war is Trump's. They don't think it's Congress. They don't think it's somebody else. They know Trump is doing it, that he made the call to do it, and that it is raising their prices, and that is what they are mad about.
Nicolle Wallace· Host0:33
[upbeat music] Hi there, everyone. This week's guest had me at hello. She's the emotional and intellectual lifeline to the pro-democracy movement for any and every ex-Republican looking to migrate or land on the right side of history. She's also the most important human for any Democratic politician to know and learn from if that politician wants to build an enduring and winning coalition. She's the publisher of The Bulwark, the author of a new book coming in September, How to Eat an Elephant, One Voter at a Time. She hosts a podcast, The Focus Group, and the Illegal News. She is my spirit animal. This is the Best People Podcast, and this is Sarah Longwell. I'm so happy you're here.
Sarah Longwell· Guest1:15
I'm so happy to be here. Thank you, and thank you for having read the book.
Nicolle Wallace· Host1:19
[upbeat music] You know we can't get enough of what you know about what