“This is not a show. This is real. This is reality. And the showbiz of it ... they’re storyboarding the whole thing. A storyboard will give you an invasion ... but it will never convey the depth and complexity of actual conflict.
“…This is why it really matters that you have someone who’s boring in the White House. This is why you’d rather have the intelligence than the charisma—you’d rather have the depth of understanding of what the actual consequences are to the actions.”
That’s how Lincoln Project Chief of Staff Ryan Wiggins summed up the Trump administration’s unconstitutional invasion into Venezuela, with zero regard for what comes next. So while plenty of people vote for the person they’d like to hang out with at the bar, Ryan points out that crisis points like this one underscore why that’s such a bad idea.
“None of them are people you want to have a beer with,” she said of politicians. “I’ve had those beers. You don’t want to have those beers.”
And of course, Trump’s dangerous foreign policy is being fueled by weakness: in the economy, in his poll numbers, and in his personal health. But all of us will end up paying the price.
Ryan also gave Lincoln Square Executive Editor Susan J. Demas, and Executive Producer Sam Osterhout a sneak peek at the Lincoln Project’s 2026 strategy.
"Rick Wilson is the anthropologist of Donald Trump's brain, which is a very tragic thing for Rick,” she laughed. “But it is a great thing for the rest of us."
Tune in for the whole show and let us know in the comments what you’d like to see on Lincoln Square in 2026!
