TIME Magazine political columnist Joe Klein has covered politics and presidential campaigns for over 40 years. But he said he’s never seen anything quite like this year’s race.
I spoke with Klein about the 2016 presidential race and how to engage people in the substance of issues. You can listen to our conversation in the audio player above.
Klein on the state of the 2016 presidential campaign:
“This is the most weird and different and depressing campaign that I’ve ever covered. One of the great political clichés is we’re at a crossroads as a nation. Now, this year, we may actually be at a crossroads.”
On Donald Trump:
“Donald Trump is an incredible problem for the media and for the country because he has no substance. He changes his positions on issues. His positions are no more than Tweets and he changes them with the prevailing winds from day to day.”
On Hillary Clinton:
“I don’t think Hillary Clinton has run a very good campaign, either. Too often, the modern Democratic Party just sees citizens as aggrieved parties, as victims. And we’re not. This is America. This is a pretty good place. Things are going pretty well. But you wouldn’t know it from the way we the media cover this or the way the candidates talk about it.”
Klein will interview author Sebastian Junger as part of the University of Louisville Kentucky Author Forum on Wednesday, September 21 at 6 p.m. More information can be found here.
