Who does Jacob Weisberg write about in Profiles in Cowardice?

Jacob Weisberg's Profiles in Cowardice covers eight powerful people who could have stood up to the second Trump administration but did not, including Mitch McConnell, Chief Justice John Roberts, former Paul Weiss chairman Brad Karp and Jeff Bezos. Weisberg told Kara Swisher he deliberately chose people who knew Trump was dangerous and had once opposed him, so he could ask why they changed in 2025. He says each subject stands for an institution that gave way, from law firms and universities to tech and finance.

• Weisberg says only one of the eight talked to him for the book.
• Weisberg's one-word answer for the common thread is money, with ambition, careerism and fear also in play.
• Weisberg thinks Brad Karp regrets his deal only because it went badly, while Jenner & Block, which fought, has thrived.

▸In their words

“People would rather hire a lawyer who's a fighter than a lawyer who kind of surrenders at the, you know, first smell of tear gas.” Jacob Weisberg · at 21:26 — open in the transcript →

Source: our own transcription of the episode. The full conversation is on On with Kara Swisher (2026-11-02). Read the whole episode summary →

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