“I think Americans are going to take to the streets. There's part of me that believes Trump wants Americans to take to the streets, because Trump wants to use the military.” - Joe Walsh
Former Republican Congressman Joe Walsh was once a proud ally of the right-wing Tea Party – the movement that many believe paved the way for Donald Trump.
But today, Walsh is no fan of Trump. In fact, he’s become one of the most vocal ‘Never Trump’ Republicans and is now officially an independent, having endorsed Joe Biden in 2020 and Kamala Harris in 2024.
In this first of a two-part interview, Mehdi and the former Congressman discuss the fallout from Trump term two so far, the Democrats' failure to fully push back against him, and whether the US is heading towards civil war.
“The Democrats seem to be caught flat footed,” Walsh tells Mehdi. “He [Trump] told us every single freaking day during that campaign what he was going to do. He told us every day during that campaign he was going to be a dictator, a king, and for him to win and then be sworn in, and the Democrats really don't know how to react to it – that's been mind boggling to me.”
Walsh also explains to Mehdi why he believes the US is currently in a “constitutional crisis” and how Congress should have confronted billionaire Elon Musk.
“We're supposed to have three independent branches of government… Congress isn't there,” Walsh says. “A healthy Congress would have hauled Elon Musk's ass in front of them under oath three weeks ago and just said, what in God's name are you doing?”
Mehdi asks Walsh whether he believes the US may be heading to civil war, to which Walsh replies: “Hell, yes.”
Watch Part One of this discussion above, which we are making available in full to both free and paid subscribers, to hear Walsh on whether Harris’s catering towards Republicans cost her the election; Elon Musk’s role in the White House; and why Democrats are still playing by the “old rules.”
Also, keep an eye out for Part Two of this wide-ranging interview, coming soon, where Mehdi challenges Walsh – a vocal supporter of Israel – on the Israeli government’s genocidal rhetoric and the many accusations of war crimes.
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