Politics As Blood Sport (with David French)

Stay Tuned with Preet

Vox Media Podcast Network

News, Society & Culture, Politics, Government

4.8 • 32.4K Ratings

🗓️ 19 March 2026

⏱️ 77 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

What happens to Republicans who dare to disagree with Trump? This week on Stay Tuned, New York Times opinion columnist and co-host of the Advisory Opinions podcast David French joins Preet to discuss how the rise of Donald Trump reshaped the Republican Party and where French stands now on conservative politics. Plus, they dive into the war in Iran and whether the US’s military operations in the country are legal. Then, Preet answers your questions on whether federal prosecutors have to follow the professional ethics rules of the states where they practice, and the historical origins of the autopen. In the bonus for Insiders, French responds to criticism that he’s too…polite. Join the Insider community for access to bonus content from Stay Tuned and weekly episodes of the Insider podcast hosted by Preet and Joyce Vance. Head to cafe.com/insider to sign up. Thank you for supporting our work. Show notes and a transcript of the episode are available on our website. You can now watch this episode! Head to CAFE’s Youtube channel and subscribe. Shop Stay Tuned merch and featured books by our guests in our Amazon storefront. Have a question for Preet? Ask @PreetBharara on BlueSky, or Twitter with the hashtag #AskPreet. Email us at staytuned@cafe.com, or call 833-997-7338 to leave a voicemail. Stay Tuned with Preet is brought to you by CAFE and the Vox Media Podcast Network. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	From Cafe and the Vox Media Podcast Network, welcome to stay tuned.
0:05.6	I'm Preet Bharara.
0:08.1	The way in which MAGA goes after dissenters is very vicious.
0:13.0	You're not allowed to have what you might call normal political disagreement.
0:17.0	And so one of my questions that we'll never know the answer to, against that backdrop,
0:21.6	how many people's conversion from Reagan conservatism to MAGA was genuine.
0:30.6	My guest this week is David French.
0:34.6	He's an opinion columnist for the New York Times and co-host
0:37.9	of the Advisory Opinions podcast. Before that, he's been 21 years as a litigator, focusing on
0:43.9	First Amendment and Religious Liberty issues. That's coming up. Stay tuned. Dell PCs with Intel inside are built for every moment.
0:58.9	With long-lasting battery life and built-in intelligence, you can stay focused on what matters
1:03.3	most.
1:03.9	Dell Technologies, built for you.
1:05.9	Dell.com slash del PCs.
1:10.2	Dell PCs with Intel inside are built for every moment.
1:14.0	With long-lasting battery life and built-in intelligence, you can stay focused on what matters
1:18.4	most.
1:19.0	Dell Technologies, built for you.
1:20.9	Dell.com slash del PCs.
1:32.7	Recovery litigator David French shares his thoughts on why he left the legal profession.
1:40.6	David French, welcome to the show. So good to have you. Well, thanks so much for having me. It's an honor.
1:46.7	So may I call you a lapsed lawyer or no? I prefer the term recovering litigator. So you left the glorious practice of law. After 21 years of litigation, yes. That's a long time.
	...

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