Welcome back to the re-education. Today's show is about the similarities between Donald Trump and an ancient Roman populist named Tiberius Gracchus.

It's not a perfect analogy, but the similarities between these two patricians who betrayed their ruling class give us an insight into how to deal with the threat populist demagogues posed to republics.

My guest is Tim Miller, a former strategist for Jeb Bush's campaign in 2016,

a contributor to the bulwark and the author of a new memoir, Why We Did It.

Now, Tim and I disagree on many things having to do with Donald Trump.

So enjoy a contentious debate today.

But first, a monologue.

I have the gravest news for you.

At this very moment, Tiberius is proclaiming himself king. He has indicated,

through his age, to bring the royal crown. Now is the time to act.

He wants to be king.

King!

It is our duty to the gods, to the people.

We must protect the Republic.

What you've just heard is from a 2010 BBC dramatic depiction of the prelude to the demise of a Roman Tribune named Tiberius Grakis.

He came from a patrician family, but in his political career, he took on the establishment.

Now, the role of Tribune in Republican Rome, it was a counterbalance to the aristocratic

Senate. The Tribune was elected by the plebeians,

and they were supposed to give a voice to Rome's people, the populari. And Tiberius Gracus

took his job very seriously. His main agenda was agricultural reform. It's a law that he

supported that would redistribute

recently conquered Roman lands in Italy from the landed gentry to the landless plebeians.

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