Good evening and welcome to this episode of the Mary Trump show. I am really happy to have as my guest tonight. David Korn journalist commentator.

Washington Bureau chief for mother Jones author of multiple New York Times best sellers. I'm almost certain his latest book will be on that list as well. American psychosis historical investigation.

I've had the Republican party went crazy. David Korn it is so good to have you. How is it going publication week. Congratulations.

Well, you know what it's like there's a lot of anxiety at the beginning of the week because you just don't know how a book is going to be received.

You knew how your first book was going to be received. But most of us don't.

And particularly with this book this was a historical exercise. I look at the last 70 years of the Republican party's relationship with far right fanaticism and how the GOP again and again encouraged and exploited extremism.

And so I mean, I was trying to answer. It was interesting in how we got to the point where today.

Believe that Donald Trump was no aberration but more culmination or continuation.

And so I really spent the last year in history land reading history books going like in presidential archives, magazine articles and newspaper articles from the 50s 60s 70s 80s 90s.

And felt you know part of my life felt detached from what goes on day in day out on Twitter and Facebook and work.

I do it by the Jones breaking stories editing stories on a daily weekly basis.

And so I was in this alternative universe. And I didn't really I think realize. I know I didn't realize how timely and relevant this book would be when it landed.

You know with the whole conversation about what magna extremism means and what it means to be public and party what is the Republican party now.

The debate over whether or not this is a former fascism where the Donald Trump is leading the country towards fascism.

The book really shows you know gives you all the historical context you need to participate in that debate and have a foundational understanding that allows you to look at today with something more than what happened the last five seconds.

And so I'm kind of you know now we're few days into the books release but prior to that I didn't know if it would be received that way and if it would you know can because it's not it doesn't have breaking news about Donald Trump's latest stupid thing he said like I want to buy the moon right.

It's you know it's how we got here and you just don't know if that's going to find an audience but I think because of the discussion we're having and I see the reaction from reviewers from you know host on MSNBC from readers and people who've gotten book quickly on social media.

And I've been really reaffirming you know the first that initial anxiety kind of passed and after a day or two of seeing how the book was being received and even kind of particularly what's been interesting to me is how the recovery Republicans as I call them are looking at the book and I'm talking about Joe Scarborough and Charlie Sykes and Rick Wilson.

They've all talked to them I've been on shows with all of them I was on morning Joe and they've all been very very respectful and they they they've they've looked at the book and have taken the argument and the story I tell seriously it's made them rethink I think some of their past love for Republican party really.

To me this is one of the most interesting things because I was not with Joe and there's a story in the book about a moment when Dwight David Eisenhower when he was campaigning for president 52 almost disavowed Joe McCarthy and what was essentially the QAnon of his day.

And he wanted to do it he thought Joe McCarthy was a liar liar and a scoundrel one was divisive and ruining American politics and also attacking people who are very close to Eisenhower right and he wanted to do it and then he was convinced and he asked to speak try to put it.

You know paragraph in the speech in which would be a denunciation of Joe McCarthy and his red baiting and then the last moment he took it out when other Republican said to him you can't do this it will split the party will make it harder to win the state of Wisconsin where McCarthy was from.

...