The Daily Show: Ears Edition - ICYMI - Stuart Stevens on The Lincoln Project and "It Was All a Lie"

Episode Date: September 4, 2020

Former GOP strategist Stuart Stevens discusses The Lincoln Project, which is led by Republicans fighting Trump from a conservative viewpoint, and his book "It Was All a Lie." Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

You're listening to Comedy Central. When 60 Minutes premiered in September 1968, there was nothing like it. This is 60 Minutes. It's a kind of a magazine for television. Very few have been given access to the treasures in our archives. But that's all about to change. Like none of this stuff gets looked at. That's what's incredible. I'm Seth Done of CBS News. Listen to 60 Minutes, a second look, starting September 17th, wherever you get your podcasts. Stuart Stevens, welcome to the Daily Social Distancing Show.

Thanks, it's great to be here, thank you. You are part of the Lincoln Project, which is a group of Republican never-trumpers who have gained a lot of notoriety online for putting out slick memes and anti-Trump pictures or gifts or whatever it may be that have really targeted the president from a Republican point of view. Tell me what that means from your perspective, because I mean, for some people they might think that's a paradox. How can you be a Republican who is never Trump?

It's a group of us who worked in a lot of Republican campaigns. And we really feel that Donald Trump is not only a threat to the Republican Party, it's a threat to the country and democracy itself. He represents everything that we thought we were working against. We thought we had joined up a party where character counts, personal responsibility mattered, strong on Russia, the debt was important, free trade. Donald Trump was against all those things. So we kind of had three choices. We did beat for Trump, well that wasn't going to happen, or we'd sit it out, we sort of sucked, or use the skills that we have to try to beat Trump.

So we're going with door number three and trying to beat him. To say that you have helped many Republicans get into office, but then turn around and say that you are against Donald Trump might be confusing because people would say that well Donald Trump is the natural evolution of the Republicans that we've seen come into office. The party has aligned around him, everyone from Marco Rubio to Mitch McConnell. So the question then is, is Donald Trump not just a crass version of what the Republicans wanted but a Republican nonetheless? Well, look, you know, I asked that question, let me write this book, it was all a lie.

I think you're right, it is what the Republican Party wants. I think the Republican Party became Donald Trump. I. I. I. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. the the the the the the the the the the the the the thi. thi. thi. So, thi. So, thi. So, thi. So, th. So, th. So, th. So, th. So, th. So, th. So, th. So, th. So, th. And, th. And, thi. And, thi. And, thi. And, thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. the the the thi. the thi. thi. ththink you're right. It is what the Republican Party wants. I think the Republican Party became Donald Trump. I don't think that Donald Trump is an aberration, a black swan who hijacked the party. In this book I try to trace the history of the party and I think there's always been two elements. You go back to the 50s, there was Joe McCarthy and Dr. Eisenhower, kind of a crazy wing. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. thine, a crazy thine, kind of a crazy thine, kind of a crazy thi, kind of a crazy thi, kind of a crazy th. I, kind of a th. I th. I th. I th. I thi, thi, thi, th, th, th, th, th, th, th, th. I thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, th. I th. I th. I th. I, th. I, th. th. th. th. th. I, th. I, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi. I'm thi. I'm thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. I'm thi. I'm thi crazy wing and a governing wing. And I think that's continued. I was involved in Governor Bush's campaign in 99 and President Bush, and we tried to create a new model of compassion to conservatism, as he called it. And we thought we were the dominant gene of the party, that it was inevitable that the direction we wanted the party to go into with triumph. I think now we have to conclude, I have to conclude anyway personally, that that was wrong. We were the recessive gene.

And that darker side of the party really was the heart and soul of the party, at least as it's constructed now. When you release a book with the title, it was all a lie. It's a fantastic title in my opinion because it's it's it's a the. The question I have for you though is, were you fooled by the lie or because you were helping these politicians get into power, were you part of the lie? Yeah, that's a great question and the answer is both. And I've tried to be as honest as I can. And this is a book that isn't blame them. I mean, I start out by tha tha tha tha tha tha tha thi out out out out out out out out out out out out out out out out out out out out out out out out out out out out out out out out out thia. thia. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. It's is thi. It's is thi. It's thi. It's thi. thi. thi. It's the. It's a thee. It's a toeeeeeeeeeeea. It'sa. toeeea. theeeea. theea. thea. thea. thea. I start out by saying blame me. I can't in good faith say I believe in personal responsibility and was drawn to the party because of that without taking

personal responsibility. I was part of this. I think that I felt that we were building towards something that was greater and better and bigger than ourselves. I think I looked too much the other way when we saw this dark side. But the essence of it that we now have embraced the Republican Party as a white nationalist party, I'm never in my wildest dreams, perhaps naively, thought that was possible. So what do you actually hope to achieve seeing how Trump has just completely owned and controlled this political party? Which we see more every day. I think that it's important to just go out there and fight to over. And the end result of that fight is never clear in any of these battles. You have to believe in

what you're doing at that moment. And look, one of the things that shouldn't be overlooked here is, while Donald Trump says he has 95% popularity in the party, that's probably an exaggeration, but it's 89 or 88% probably, but the party's getting smaller. So as he keeps that intensity because a lot of people who are independence, who are self-identifying as Republicans, no longer identify as Republicans. So he has shrunk the party the party, the party, the party, the party, the party, the party, the party, the party, th, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, is thi, is thi, is thi, is thi, is thui, is thui, is thui, is thui, is thui, is thui, is thui, is thui, is thui, is thui, is thui, is thui, is thui, is thui, is thui, is thui, is thui, is thui, is thi, is self-identifying as Republicans, no longer identify as Republicans. So he has shrunk the party. Since 1964, Republicans have not attracted African-Americans in any number, which is a huge, huge failure of the party.

But we admitted it was a failure, and we tried to aspire to something better. Now Trump is just comfortable with this. So the party is getting smaller. And there's really not a future future toeeeeeaafiiiuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu to thiu thiu thiu thi thi thi thi thi thi thi thi thi thi thi thi thi thi thi thi thi thi thi, this. So the party is getting smaller. And there's really not a future for that party in a changing America as it is now. Where do you go back to? Is it about defeating Donald Trump and then going back to the Republican Party and then continuing many of the policies that have helped create Donald Trump?

Or is there another way? Because that's the one thing that I'm left with, is what do you go to and where do many of your fellow never-Trumpers go back to, if in many ways the poison is still within the party, even if Trump is not in the White House? Well, we're going to fight Trump-ismissin in all its forms, which I think is really fighting for American democracy. I think there's really three parties in America now. There's a Republican Party, which is basically a party that says no to everything.

And then there's two parties inside the Democratic Party. Call it an AOC, Sanders wing and a Biden wing. And the future of America is going to be decided within that debate. I mean, take national health insurance. In 20 years, will America be the only country that doesn't have national health insurance or Western democracy? Of course we're not. But what's that going to be is going to be decided in the Democratic Party, not the Republican

Party? So I want to be part of what's going to matter. And I think the Republican Party, as it has in California, where it's now in the national debate about the future of the country. You have written a book that people are talking about, so congratulations on that, and thank you so much for joining us on the show. Thank you, Charter. Enjoyed it. The Daily Show with Cover No.Ears Edition. Watch the Daily Show weeknights at 11th and 10 Central on Comedy Central and the Comedy

Cencetral app. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram, and subscribe to the Daily Show on YouTube for exclusive content and more. This has been a Comedy Central Podcast. When 60 Minutes premiered in September 1968, there was nothing like it. This is 60 Minutes. It's a kind of a magazine for television. Very few have been given access to the treasures in our archives. You're rolling?

But that's all about to change. Like, none of this stuff gets looked at. That's what's incredible. I'm Seth Done of CBS News. to 60 minutes, a second look on Apple podcasts starting September 17.