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Donald Trump’s combination of bigotry, lies, and meanness led to a victory that stunned political pundits in 2016. Atlantic writer Adam Serwer would go on to coin the phrase that summed up Trump’s appeal: the cruelty is the point. Serwer has collected his essays chronicling the Trump era in the new book, The Cruelty is the Point: The Past, Present, and Future of Trump’s America, and joins host Jason Johnson to discuss it on this week’s episode of A Word.

Guest: Adam Serwer, staff writer for The Atlantic and author of The Cruelty is the Point: The Past, Present, and Future of Trump’s America.

Podcast production by Ahyiana Angel and Jasmine Ellis

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A Word: The Cruelty Was the Point. Is It Still?