#1801 Counterfeit Populism: Trump, the 2026 Primaries, and the Era That's Ending (Transcript)

Air Date: 6/17/2026 Today we trace a pattern that repeated across half a dozen states this primary season: working-class candidates running on the cost of living beat the opponents party leadership hand-picked and funded. It looks like ordinary election news, but it's more pieces of a larger shift already underway; away from a politics of left against right and toward a new era of the elite vs working people. Full Show Notes Transcript Be part of the show! Leave a voice message, message us on Signal at the handle bestoftheleft.01, or email [email protected] BestOfTheLeft.com/Support (Members Get Bonus Shows + No Ads!) Use our links to shop Bookshop.org and Libro.fm for a non-evil book and audiobook purchasing experience! Join our Discord community! TOP TAKES KP 1: Hayes: Trump Is Chasing Good Press with Bombs - All In with Chris Hayes - Air Date 6-11-26 KP 2: Bernie Sanders Just Won Them All - The Rational National - Air Date 6-10-26 KP 3: We Sat AOC Down With Republican Voters. Can She Win Them Over? - More Perfect Union and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez - Air Date 6-9-26 KP 4: "Fetterman Vibes?" DSA Dem WON'T DEFEND Graham Platner - Breaking Points - Air Date 6-9-26 KP 5: Abdul El-Sayed Thinks the Michigan Senate Race Will Come Down to This One Factor - Slate and Abdul El-Sayed - Air Date 4-30-26 (00:49:39) NOTE FROM THE EDITOR Counterfeit Populism Is Dying My commentaries on YouTube - Share them! DEEPER DIVES (01:05:26) SECTION A: READING THE PRIMARY MAP A1: Voters Reject the Establishment in This Week's Primaries - The NPR Politics Podcast - Air Date 6-4-26 A2: Josh Turek, Democratic Senate Nominee, on Why Iowa Will Flip Blue - Brian Tyler Cohen News - Air Date 6-3-26 A3: The Graham Platner Debate Part 1 - Majority 54 - Air Date 6-4-26 A4: Kentucky Senate Seat Is 'most Flippable' Race, Says Democrat Charles Booker - Meet The Press NOW _ NBC News NOW - Air Date 5-19-26 A5: The Democratic Establishment Can Be Defeated - Current Affairs - Air Date 5-15-26 (01:45:20) SECTION B: THE PLATNER RECKONING B1: How Maine Democrats View Platner's Scandals and Chances to Oust Sen. Collins - PBS NewsHour - Air Date 6-9-26 B2: Graham Platner's Billionaire-Bashing Message Resonates in Maine Senate Race, Despite Controversies - Democracy Now! - Air Date 6-8-26 B3: Why I Left the (White) Left - Signified B Sides - Air Date 6-2-26 B4: We Need to Talk About The Graham Platner Left (ft@noahsamsen_) - The Kavernacle and Noah Samsen - Air Date 5-27-26 B5: The Graham Platner Debate Part 2 - Majority 54 - Air Date 6-4-26 (02:30:13) SECTION C: THE TEXAS SENATE FIGHT C1: Talarico Derangement Syndrome & Calling Stephen Miller Ugly Part 1 - Head in the Office - Air Date 5-29-26 C2: Can We Win Texas? - Majority 54 - Air Date 5-28-26 C3: Talarico Derangement Syndrome & Calling Stephen Miller Ugly Part 2 - Head in the Office - Air Date 5-29-26 (02:56:11) SECTION D: DEFENDING THE VOTE & THE LONG VIEW D1: MAGA's California Fraud Lie Falls Apart Instantly - All In with Chris Hayes - Air Date 6-9-26 D2: Their Votes Should Count. Yours Shouldn't. That's the Whole Argument. - Takes™ by Jamelle Bouie - Air Date 6-9-26 D3: The Election Interference Evidence No One Is Talking About - The Real News Podcast - Air Date 6-8-26 D4: The Washington Roundtable Live: The Backlash Midterms - The Political Scene | The New Yorker - Air Date 6-5-26   Produced by Jay! Tomlinson Visit us at BestOfTheLeft.com Listen Anywhere! BestOfTheLeft.com/Listen Listen Anywhere! Follow BotL: Bluesky | Mastodon | Threads | X Like at Facebook.com/BestOfTheLeft Contact me directly at [email protected]