All Podcasts / Making Sense with Sam Harris / #472 — Strange Days on the Right
Making Sense with Sam Harris
Making Sense with Sam Harris

#472 — Strange Days on the Right

April 24, 2026 • 16m

Summary

⏱️ 7 min read

Overview

Sam Harris and Ben Shapiro engage in a detailed postmortem discussion about Trump's second term, examining predictions made before the election and how they've played out. The conversation covers Trump's tariff policies, personnel decisions, family corruption concerns, the reframing of January 6th, and their fundamental disagreement about what makes Trump 'disqualifying.' They also touch on foreign policy and the situation in Iran, revealing deep philosophical differences about presidential character versus policy outcomes.

Opening and Setting the Stage

Harris and Shapiro reconnect to discuss the increasingly chaotic political landscape, particularly the divisions within the Republican Party and what Harris characterizes as the 'MAGA cult.' The conversation is framed around revisiting predictions Shapiro made before Trump's election, with Harris noting that some of those predictions have 'not aged particularly well.' This sets up a candid examination of what has surprised both participants about Trump's second term.

  • The current political climate is becoming increasingly chaotic and divisive
  • Republicans appear divided between Nazi sympathizers and those who still think Nazis are bad
  • Harris and Shapiro last debated before Trump's election at an event organized by Barry Weiss
" I think many of the Republicans or Republicans seem to be divided between those who are Nazi sympathizers and those who think all things considered Nazis are probably still bad. "

Tariffs and Economic Policy Predictions

Harris challenges Shapiro's pre-election prediction that Trump's tariff threats were merely bluster. Instead, Trump implemented extensive tariffs that Harris describes as affecting 'nearly every member of our species.' Shapiro acknowledges surprise at the tariff decision and calls it a 'horrible idea,' but notes that Treasury Secretary Scott Besant and Supreme Court intervention mitigated the worst effects. The actual tariff rates implemented ended up being less severe than those initially announced on Liberation Day.

  • Shapiro predicted Trump's tariff threats were bluster, but Trump tariffed extensively
  • Shapiro was 'extraordinarily outspoken and critical' when Trump implemented the tariffs
  • Treasury Secretary Scott Besant helped mitigate tariff effects
  • The Supreme Court struck down Liberation Day tariffs
  • Final tariff rates were not as extreme as initially proposed
" he's tariffed nearly every member of our species and not just our species. We've tariffed islands that have just penguins on them, apparently. "

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