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Hello and welcome to the Americano podcast, a series of discussions about American politics, power and prejudices.

This year, 2024, is an election year in America, a presidential election year. And so we will be doing two podcasts a week, rather than our usual one,

because we want to and because we know you can't get enough Americano in your life.

I am delighted to be joined again in New Hampshire by Ben Domic,

who is editor at large of The Spectator World.

And Ben, the last podcast we did from New Hampshire,

was really about how flat and worn out this whole thing is. So I think let's try not to do that again if we can,

even though that does seem to be the theme of this primary. Perhaps where we could start off

is on Rondesantis, because that's what's changed since the last podcast, is Rond Santis dropped

out quite suddenly. I mean, there was a fair

bit of speculation going around that he was about to do it. What are your thoughts on that,

first of all? You know, I think that one of the big questions that we have to ask coming out of

this whole process is whether it was even going to be possible for any of these candidates to

have the kind of support necessary to take on someone who essentially has the power of incumbency within his own party.

And I don't think that the answer to that is a very positive one.

And there are a couple of reasons for that.

One is that I think the establishment of the Republican

party is overwhelmingly pro-Trump, including the bulk of what I would categorize as the donor

class being, if not pro-Trump, at least willing to back him. And I think that that's something

...