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Hi you,

 

I’m writing to you from somewhere in France, along the Mediterranean. I won’t be more specific because I like the semi-secret nature of this place. I’ve barely encountered an American accent in the past week, and that’s been a relief for me along with the presence of unarmed local law enforcement and the magic constitution of the wine here, which I seem to be able to drink with no hangovers or bloating whatsoever. Vive la France! 

 

This newsletter will be different in format. Shortly before I escaped from the U.S.A., I had a conversation with my Puck partner Tina Nguyen, who covers the part of the conservative world I’ll call the MAGAverse. Tina’s got a unique and valuable perspective, having spent some of her younger years in the training centers for future conservative leaders she now covers. I hoped to get a better understanding of how power is moving in our country, and Tina did not disappoint.

 

But first, I want to briefly address another moving topic: Will Smith. If you missed it, I wrote a piece the day after the 2022 Oscars in which I attempted to process and explain Smith’s assault on Chris Rock. Much of what I hoped for from Smith hadn’t come to pass, but several months later he’s finally issued a public apology. What I see in his statement is someone working to express remorse and explain a severe moment of failure. He acknowledges the utter unacceptability of his actions and the fact that it may have created an irreparable breach with Rock and his family. He also said, “I’m trying to be remorseful without being ashamed of myself. I’m human and I made a mistake and I’m trying not to think of myself as a piece of s***.” 

 

I sincerely wish Smith the best in this part of his journey. As someone who champions redemption and the salvageability of humans, as well as efforts to reform our criminal punishment system, I hope Smith finds what he seeks. And I hope each of us can do the same in our own lives, individually and as a nation. Shame and self-loathing are not a desirable outcome. They can and should only serve as waystations on a greater journey.

 

Now, onto my conversation with Tina, which we held in late July from our hotel rooms, mine in D.C., hers in Tampa. By the way, her last name, Nguyen, is pronounced “knew-WHEN” so you can consider this a Nguyenterview! Oh silly wordplay. Enjoy!

 

Can’t see the full story? You're receiving the free version of my email at . For full access to Puck, and to each of my colleagues, you can subscribe here.

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refugees

Jan 6. & Modern Memory

A conversation with Tina Nguyen on the past, present and future of the far right.

Baratunde Thurston

BARATUNDE THURSTON

 

Baratunde Thurston: Good morning, Tina! So, I’ve brought you into this hotel-to-hotel chat to pick your brain on three topics. The first is January 6 and what we've been learning and how the MAGA world thinks about it. The second is what the outside world thinks about our little democratic experiment we've been running for a couple of centuries. The third is you and how you came to be in a situation where, as I understand it, you're spending your weekend at the Turning Point USA Student Action Summit, which is why you’re in Tampa.

 

But let's start with the Jan. 6 hearings. I’m old enough to remember my excited liberal friends donning Robert Mueller t-shirts that said things like, “It's Mueller Time,” as they opened boxes of wine to prematurely celebrate a moment of accountability for Donald Trump. In the end, of course, not much happened to Trump, so I'm curious what the far right you cover is seeing when they watch these hearings, if they are watching these hearings at all?

 

Tina Nguyen: It’s an important question, because right now there's a part of MAGA world that has always viewed the Jan. 6 riot as, essentially, a whole bunch of hyper-enthusiastic patriots who got a little carried away. You’ll also hear people in this world say...

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