If Democrats follow Brett Stevens's advice to conduct normal opposition politics rather than resistance politics, they can improve their position; but if they continue to treat Trump as a mortal threat to democracy and engage in resistance tactics, they will continue losing because such tactics feed Trump's narrative of an entrenched, manipulative deep state.

normativepending

Speaker

Brett Stevens

Evidence Quote

“resistance politics uh is... the oxygen off of which a political figure like Donald Trump and his movement feed... Democrats helpfully oblige them by behaving like a dishonest disgusting deceitful manipulative deep state”

Source

The Comeback: The NYT’s Bret Stephens and the GoodFellows Recap the ’24 Election— Hoover Institution
Created: 8/11/2026, 1:46:20 AM

My Notes

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