Why does Susan Glasser blame Ohio governor Mike DeWine for the Trump era?

Susan Glasser, who covered Mike DeWine's first statewide campaign as a young Roll Call reporter, said he is no MAGA figure yet repeatedly enabled Trump. She cited his endorsement of Trump after January 6, his silence when Trump and J.D. Vance attacked law-abiding Haitians in Ohio in 2024, and his endorsement of Vivek Ramaswamy. DeWine criticised a Ramaswamy ad but refused to withdraw his support.

• Glasser said she blames such establishment Republicans as much as the people directly around Trump.
• Glasser called Trump's two terms the work of a minoritarian president governing as though he had a two-thirds mandate.
• Glasser estimated that a quarter to a third of the country has long been willing to back a right-wing demagogue.

Source: our own transcription of the episode. The full conversation is on On with Kara Swisher (2026-11-05). Read the whole episode summary →

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