Introduction

This week on Politix, Matt and Brian discuss:

* Donald Trump’s warning of “a bloodbath for the whole country” if he loses;

* The relative political value of exploiting Trump’s authoritarian appeals vs. his agenda of tax breaks for rich people and big entitlement cuts;

* The potential risk of attacking Trump in scattershot fashion, rather than homing in on his biggest vulnerabilities

Then, paid subscribers get a lengthier discussion of two potential pitfalls of resistance politics: First, does freaking out over Trump’s threats of violence come at a cost if it’s done in a way that conveys fear and weakness? Second, do liberals undermine their core values of reason and nuance by reading Trump’s provocations in the most menacing possible light? Is there any good way to make Trump accountable for his words without getting suckered into pedantic textual debates about whether his words were literal or figurative. If you’d like to hear us take a stab at those questions, upgrade to paid, and enjoy the whole episode!

Further reading:

* Matt admits it: The orange man is bad!

* Brian and AOC discuss the disconnect between Democrats’ democracy appeals and their lackluster approach to accountability politics.

* Trump runs to the safety of Breitbart to walk back his flirtation with Social Security and Medicare.