If you missed our Free Press Election 2024 Livestream—thanks to the hundreds of thousands of you who tuned in!—you can watch it here. There were a lot more people in the green room, and we couldn’t pass up an opportunity to get them on the record on the burning issues. . .
Who will win World War III?
“America, baby.” —Coleman Hughes
“Trick question. There will be no World War III.” —Michael Shellenberger
“Israel.” — Dasha Nekrasova
“China.” —Jesse Singal
“I’m hoping that Donald Trump becomes president, and we don’t find out, because I don’t think it will happen if he’s president for four years. But there’s one thing that the democracies have shown—that they’re very slow to recognize threats—but once they are mobilized, they win.” —Matt Continetti
“Assuming we get India on our side, the Western world.”
—Brianna Wu
What have you changed your mind about since the last election?
“I think Trump’s gotten creepier since 2020. I think he’s gotten more vengeful. I think he’s gotten angrier, even though I think he’s got more reason to be angry.” —Rikki Schlott
“Tech censorship and the danger it poses to democracy. I think in 2020 I was a little bit more accepting that the tech companies as private entities had the right to police discourse. But in the years since, I’ve seen that they wield an almost government-like power that I think needs to be held in check.” —Matt Continetti
“In 2020 I was like, oh, the Democratic Party is just the party of the professional managerial elite, but Bidenism has been interesting economically.” —Sohrab Ahmari
“I’ve decided not to panic over the possibility of a Donald Trump victory because I did that in 2016. I can’t really get there emotionally this time. I just feel dead inside.”
—Kat Rosenfield
On what the next president should do to unite America:
“Chill the fuck out.” —Jesse Singal
“Make clear he doesn’t hate the other half of the country.”
—Coleman Hughes
“Focus on posterity instead of populism.” —Peter Meijer
“Promise to protect pet squirrels from government overreach.” —Kat Rosenfield
“Lower taxes.” —Adam Rubenstein
The biggest gaffe of the election?
“Kamala Harris choosing Tim Walz instead of Josh Shapiro.” —Nellie Bowles
“Kamala lying about working at McDonald’s.” —Dasha Nekrasova
“Tony Hinchcliffe and Joe Biden had the biggest impact on this election—other than the names on the ticket—because by not bowing out gracefully sooner, he set her up in a position to look dishonest no matter what she said.” —Noam Dworman
“The Biden campaign.” – Rikki Schlott
What do you make of our vice president–elect?
“J.D. Vance is one of the most pernicious and pathetic figures in American politics and culture.” —Nick Gillespie
“J.D. Vance is a thoughtful, conscientious, patriotic, decent person who learns, adapts, and course-corrects.” —Reihan Salam
“J.D. Vance is disturbingly hot.” —Brianna Wu
“J.D. Vance is held back by his loyalty to Trump.” —Coleman Hughes
“The only person at Yale worth knowing.” —Catherine Herridge
Why did Trump win?
“The more you learn about Kamala, the less you like. Maybe she should have been hiding in the basement.”
—Catherine Herridge
“Immigration. He’s the strongest anti-immigration president we’ve had in decades. At the same time, we had the biggest immigration crisis we’ve had. So 2 + 2 = 4.” —Coleman Hughes
“Maybe because of the border. Maybe it’s because of Kamala’s personality. And she also did kind of a terrible job at being vice president.” —Josie Savodnik, age 9
This piece was first published in our news digest, The Front Page. To get our latest coverage on the aftermath of the 2024 election, become a Free Press subscriber today:
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