Impolitic with John Heilemann Jon Favreau & Jon Lovett: The Year in Politics, Part I
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Dec 26, 2025 
Joining the conversation are Jon Favreau and Jon Lovett, both former Obama speechwriters and co-hosts of Pod Save America. They dive into Trump’s tumultuous second term, analyzing his early momentum and the factors behind his decline. The duo critiques the Democratic Party's messaging and discusses pivotal moments revealing Trump's character flaws. They weigh potential 2028 Republican candidates and lament the Democrats' need for a unifying vision while sharing cultural picks that got them through the year.
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Trump's Early Momentum And Self-Inflicted Decline
- Early 2025 felt like Trump arriving "like a lion": fast, methodical, and dominant before public pushback grew.
- His rapid rise receded as self-inflicted errors and hubris created political damage and slippage.
Democrats' Tactical Fights Mattered
- Much of Trump's political weakening is self-inflicted, not chiefly Democratic wins.
- Democrats' selective fights (e.g., healthcare, lawful-orders disputes) grabbed attention and helped blunt Trump.
Second Term Had More Radical Enablers
- Trump 2.0 was worse than expected because ideological enablers returned more radicalized and competent.
- The White House staff knew how to run the job and pushed plans off the shelf quickly.