The Dispatch
· collected 2026-09-08 · by Steve Hayes, Jonah Goldberg, Michael Reneau, Kevin D. Williamson
A discussion on a potential post-Trump reality is had by Steve Hayes and his colleagues Jonah Goldberg, Kevin Williamson, and Michael Renaud on their podcast, "The Dispatch Podcast". They touch on the upcoming midterm elections in November 2026, where Republicans currently control both houses of Congress and the White House. According to polls, Democrats have a significant lead, with Nate Silver predicting a low probability for the GOP retaining the House of Representatives and a potential two-seat Democratic Senate majority leader. The New York Times also reports that Democrats have a 10-point advantage over Republicans in party affiliation.
Written by the local model on 2026-09-08,
using this article's own text rather than the other coverage of the
same event (that is the story summary below).
Story summary
Four journalists from The Dispatch, including Steve Hayes, Jonah Goldberg, Kevin Williamson, and Michael Reneau, discuss their editorial on the post-Trump reality and various other topics on a podcast. They cover comments made by White House special envoy Steve Witkoff to Vladimir Putin as part of US negotiations to end the Ukraine war. The podcast also features a segment called "Not Worth Your Time" in which the hosts share their experiences working at The Dispatch, discussing jobs they learned from and enjoyed. The discussion on the post-Trump reality is framed as a response to what one of the hosts calls the "Burn it all down" crowd.
Written for “Trump's Post Presidency Plans” on 2026-09-08,
grounded in this article and the 0 other(s) covering the same event.
Why this leaning score
The article's own words the score was based on. Each is quoted
verbatim and was checked against the article text before being
stored, so you can find it in the original.
-
The president's party does poorly in the midterms.
left framing a common political phenomenon as a general rule
-
President Trump and the GOP are being blamed for high prices and a volatile economy, an unpopular war in Iran.
left attributing negative outcomes to the current administration
-
Concerns about government corruption are in the headlines on a near-daily basis and by Gallup's counting at an all-time high.
left emphasizing a perceived problem with the current administration
Leaning score -0.55 for article 6976 (high confidence, 3 verified quotes) · logged 2026-09-08
Steve Hayes is joined by Jonah Goldberg, Kevin Williamson, and Michael Reneau to discuss our latest editorial on a post-Trump reality, comments by White House special envoy Steve Witkoff to Vladimir Putin as the U.S. pursues negotiations for an end to the Ukraine war, and finally, a Labor Day edition of Not Worth Your Time.
asserted
U.S. → join → Worth
—Addressing the “Burn it all down” crowd
—You don’t know what time is it
—Let’s talk about followership
—Not Worth Your Time:
asserted
Not → address → Time
On today's roundtable, we have a long discussion about the Dispatch editorial and the coming post-Trump reality.
asserted
we → have → editorial
Then we'll spend a moment on comments by Steve Witkoff to Vladimir Putin as the US pursues negotiations on an end to the Ukraine war.
asserted
US → spend → war
We talk about jobs that we've had that we've learned the most from and jobs that we've had that are the most fun.
asserted
that → talk → that
I'm joined today by my Dispatch colleagues, Kevin Williamson, national correspondent, Michael Renaud, our executive editor, and Jonah Goldberg, co-founder and editor-in-chief.
asserted
I → join → chief
Let's dive right in.
asserted
's → let → ?
Early voting across the country starts soon, within a matter of weeks.
asserted
voting → start → weeks
Last week on our roundtable discussion at the end of the week, we discussed some of the races we'll be looking at between now and Election Day, and we'll be doing a lot more of that, of course, over the next several weeks as we approach November.
asserted
we → discuss → November
Today, however, we want to try to imagine what the world looks like on November 4th, the day after those midterm elections, and in the days and weeks that follow.
asserted
that → want → days
So let me offer a caveat that 2 months is a long time in politics, and the conditions today could, of course, change ahead of those elections.
uncertain
conditions → let → elections
The trends are all heading in the same direction.
asserted
trends → head → direction
Republicans control both houses of Congress and the White House.
asserted
Republicans → control → Congress
Historically, the president's party does poorly in the midterms.
asserted
party → do → midterms
This year, President Trump and the GOP are being blamed for high prices and a volatile economy, an unpopular war in Iran.
asserted
Trump → blame → Iran
Concerns about government corruption are in the headlines on a near-daily basis and by Gallup's counting at an all-time high.
asserted
Concerns → count → high
Nate Silver says the GOP has a, quote, "low probability," unquote, of retaining the House of Representatives, and his snapshot of competitive Senate seats based on current polling averages has Democrats leading 9 of 11 races,
which would mean somewhere in the vicinity of a two-seat Democratic Senate majority leader.
asserted
which → say → leader
The New York Times reported over the weekend, quote, "The share of Americans who associate themselves with the Democratic Party has grown significantly over the past year.
asserted
who → report → year
The shift signals the party's largest advantage since 2008.
asserted
shift → signal → 2008
The data shows Democrats with a 10-point advantage over Republicans."
asserted
data → show → Republicans
