# TGS Live: John McWhorter on the A-Hole Theory of Donald Trump

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Text version: https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-glenn-show-4259143/tgs-live-john-mcwhorter-on-the-a-hole-theory-of-donald-trump.md
Podcast: [The Glenn Show](https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-glenn-show-4259143)
Published: 2026-04-24T18:41:00+00:00
Episode link: https://glennloury.substack.com/p/tgs-live-john-mcwhorter-on-the-a
Audio file: https://api.substack.com/feed/podcast/194838877/849d2565aa205a43ea779e6b149b178e.mp3
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JSON: https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/the-glenn-show-4259143/episodes/tgs-live-john-mcwhorter-on-the-a-hole-theory-of-donald-trump
Duration seconds: 3510

## Resource

Support The Glenn Show at https://glennloury.substack.com Glenn and John McWhorter reunite for their monthly conversation, starting with a familiar disagreement: Trump. John reduces Trump's governing philosophy to one word—"a*****e"—arguing his personality explains his chaotic, norm-breaking style. Glenn isn't so sure. He sees Trump as a more conventional figure responding to structural forces larger than any one leader, and argues that personality-based explanations substitute for the harder work of substantive analysis. This connects to Glenn's recent essay on moral language in public discourse—how loaded terms like "genocide" (or "a*****e") can short-circuit rather than advance reasoned debate. The conversation closes with John's New York Times piece on DEI and AI, and how both breed a corrosive, unresolvable suspicion around individual achievement. The Glenn Show is almost entirely audience-supported , so to those of us who are already full subscribers, let me extend a heartfelt thank you. And if you’re not yet a full subscriber, please consider becoming one . The Glenn Show can only do what it does through the generosity of viewers and listeners. For a mere $6/month or $50/year , you’ll get access to weekly livestreams, monthly Q&A episodes with John McWhorter, commenting privileges, access to the full Substack archives, and other exclusive bonus content. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit glennloury.substack.com/subscribe

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## Transcript

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