Historian Douglas Brinkley joins Terry Moran to make sense of one of the most chaotic years in modern American history.

In this wide-ranging year-in-review conversation, Brinkley places Trump’s second term in historical context — from the collapse of the Cold War consensus and NATO anxiety to the return of economic nationalism, political violence, and a reshaping of global power. They explore why Trump resonates with disaffected voters, how billionaire populism works, the legacy of the long 1960s, and why this moment echoes earlier eras of upheaval.

The discussion also covers assassinations, immigration, climate, executive power, the Supreme Court, and why historians are already calling Trump a world-historical figure.

⏱ CHAPTERS

00:00 – Making sense of a chaotic year

01:25 – Trump as an end-of-era figure

03:15 – The dismantling of the Cold War order

05:05 – NATO, Europe, and American abdication

07:45 – Economic nationalism and the Ross Perot legacy

09:25 – Why Trump connected with left-behind voters

11:40 – Trump’s desire for historical immortality

13:35 – Parallels to Nixon, Jackson, and earlier presidents

17:30 – Political violence and assassinations in 2025

21:00 – The Pope vs. Trump: competing moral visions

24:20 – Immigration and the erosion of rights

26:55 – The long shadow of the 1960s

29:25 – Executive orders and authoritarian drift

33:00 – Is Trump slipping or doubling down?

38:15 – What historians are watching in 2026

#DouglasBrinkley #DonaldTrump #USHistory #WorldPolitics #Democracy