Tariffs activated the conservative old guard. Here’s what one of their top thinkers sees coming.

The Conversation with Dasha Burns

POLITICO

Government, Politics, News

4.4 • 1.5K Ratings

🗓️ 11 April 2025

⏱️ 35 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

Robert Doar, the President of the American Enterprise Institute, joins host Rachael Bade to discuss how an institution long dedicated to promoting ideas such as free trade and strong American global leadership, is asserting itself in a Trump administration that often does not prioritize those views. In this episode, they discuss who in the White House is receptive to these values; how AEI is trying to influence an administration that’s fixated on podcasters and TikTokers — not conventional policy papers; who the emerging leaders are on Capitol Hill that are carrying this message; and why Doar is so much more optimistic about the future than your average cable TV host. Rachael Bade is Capitol Bureau Chief and Senior Washington Correspondent for POLITICO. Robert Doar is the president of the American Enterprise Institute Kara Tabor is a producer for POLITICO audio. Alex Keeney is a senior producer for POLITICO audio. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript

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0:29.9	Well, I thought that people were jumping a little bit out of line.
0:34.9	They were getting yippy, you know.
0:37.0	They were getting a little bit yippy, a little bit afraid, unlike. They were getting yippy, you know. They were getting a little bit
0:37.8	yippy, a little bit afraid, unlike these champions.
0:43.1	President Trump's vice grip on the Republican Party wobbled this week after tariffs turned
0:47.4	allies into critics and his agenda budget bill hit a snag with fiscal conservatives on Capitol Hill.
0:53.3	These two setbacks for Trump showed how the old-school Reagan types in the Republican Party
0:57.9	are still alive and able to play spoiler.
1:01.0	One of the most powerful institutions aligned with them is the American Enterprise Institute,
1:05.1	a storied think tank where right-leaning captains of industry have long assembled to make their
1:10.3	voices heard.
1:11.6	Now, like so many others, AEI's wired thinkers and donors are trying to adapt to Trump's new
1:17.0	Washington.
1:18.2	The conservative world has been challenged by the rise of national populism, and that's a good
1:25.5	thing, in my opinion. There are aspects of the traditional conservative approach to some issues that needed a rethink.
1:32.6	I caught up with AI's president, Robert Doer, on Wednesday night.
	...

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