The Gist Miles Taylor on Resistance Cascades, Rubio’s Turn, and Testing the Judiciary
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Sep 3, 2025 
Miles Taylor, a former DHS official and author of "Blowback," dives into the complexities of Trump’s political strategies. He discusses the ‘permission structures’ that shaped resistance in 2020 versus the challenges of 2024. The conversation touches on Marco Rubio’s political evolution, the role of patronage in silencing dissent, and the precarious position of the judiciary. Taylor argues that satire might persuade more people than traditional lectures, highlighting the dynamics of immigration policy and collective courage in the face of authoritarianism.
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Permission Structures Enable Political Cascades
- Collective behavior follows permission structures: when one actor resists, thresholds lower and resistance can cascade.
- Taylor says those permission structures helped some Republicans vote against Trump in 2020 by making dissent socially viable.
How One Unmasking Triggered Others
- Miles Taylor describes how he decided to unmask himself after anonymous critiques and sought colleagues' support with coffees and lunches.
- After he went public, several former officials, including Olivia Troye, joined him within days, creating a larger anti‑Trump coalition.
Recency Bias Undermined 2024 Dissent
- The 2020 anti‑Trump movement was decisive because voters faced concrete, recent harms like COVID and saw public Republican dissent.
- By 2024 recency bias and shifting priorities made those permission structures fade and many Republicans returned to the tribe.
