former President Donald Trump's# hold on the Republican mu ch has been made of the far right's# strong sway over the GOP and Bu t what doesn't get nearly as much attention is# the far left's influence in the Democratic Party.
I sat down last week with Joshua# Green to discuss just that.
It's## the focus of his latest book called "The# Rebels: Elizabeth Warren, Bernie Sanders,## Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, and the# Struggle For a New American Politics."
Joshua Green, welcome to the "NewsHour."
JOSHUA GREEN, Author, "The GE OFF BENNETT: In the bo progressive movement to the 2008 financial crisis.
How was that a clarifying# moment and a catalyst for## progressive politics and progressive politicians?
JOSHUA GREEN: I mean, to me, the 2008 crash in its## aftermath was the defining event# in recent U.S. political An d then it gave rise to this furious# populist backlash on the right, which## eventually gave rise to Donald Trump, but also# on the left, which gave rise to my characters,## first Elizabeth Warren, then Bernie Sanders,# who nearly succeeded in winning the Democratic## nomination in 2016, and then ultimately to# this new generation of younger progressives,## such as Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and# the cohort around her in Congress.
GEOFF BENNETT: You mentioned Elizabeth Warren.
And in the book, you exp the government's response to the# financial crisis.
And, at the time,## she was an unlikely voice in that regard.
Walk us# through her evolution, based on your reporting.
JOSHUA GREEN: Yes, Warren is a fascinating# figure.
I got to know her just after## the crisis.
She was still a Harvard law# professor, but she had jus one of the overseers of the government's# bailout of Wall Street after the crash.
And she used that fairly obscure position# as a platform to really go after the Obama## administration, the banks, and articulate# this version of left-wing populism that## really hadn't had a voice in recent American# political history.
It wound up catching fire,## really starting a movement.
And within a few# years, even before she ran for Senate in 2012,## people in Washington would talk about the# Elizabeth Warren wing of the Democratic Party.
So it helped give rise to this new brand of## progressivism that we saw rise# up in the wake of the GEOFF BENNETT: And fast-forward# to the current moment.
How do you## view the progressive influence on# President you could argue that he has governed like# an economic populist and in many ways far## less than the centrist Democrat that he was# expected to be, given his long track record.
JOSHUA GREEN: Which is really# a remarkable evolution.
I mean, when I first came to Biden was a senator from Delaware, was# known as a great friend of bu was sometimes jokingly referred to as the# senator from corporate America.
I think## Biden's evolution in particular has been an# interesting one, because he was in the White## House with Barack Obama as his vice president# when that first crash hit, and then, when h was elected president, inherited another great# economic crash that followed the COVID pandemic.
And the response to those two crashes, I think,# illustrates what an effect these populists have## had.
After COVID, Biden put in place multiple# rounds of stimulus, unemployment benefits,## student loan freezes, small business loans,# but all of it focused on the middle class## in a way that hadn't necessarily been# true of the response to the '08 crisis.
And so, when you hear Biden speak today# about the economy, he talks about building## it from the middle out.
He shows up on union# picket lines.
He does things that would have## been fairly unimaginable for a centrist# Democrat to do 10, 15 or 20 years ago.
GEOFF BENNETT: What is it about# the Democratic brand of populism## that's different from the kind of# populism that Trump supporters JO SHUA GREEN: Well, the populism# that I write about with Warren,## Bernie and Ocasio-Cortez is really# focused on economic populism And I think my last book, "Devil's Bargain,"# was about the rise of Steve Tr ump in right-wing populism.
And mostly, I think# that's focused on a kind of cultural populism,## a lot of anger toward immigration,# America first nationalism.
Certainly,## there are some economic components.
Trump# is very hawkish toward trade.
He's put in## place -- he put in place steel tariffs the# Biden administration has kept in place.
There are areas of overlap.
But, to me, it's# the cultural element that distinguishes the## right-wing populism from the left-wing# populism that I write about in this book.
GEOFF BENNETT: What about the# politicians themselves?
Is there## a ceiling of support for progressive Democrats who might support progressive# policies, there hasn't been en from the Democratic base to propel one of the# progressive politicians into the White House.
JOSHUA GREEN: You know, it's an interesting# question, because, if you go back to 2019,## I was embedded with Warren and with Sanders# for a time during the Demo when they were both running for president.
It seemed like in the moment# that progressi really taking off, and yet neither one of# them emerged as the Democr partly because there were two of them# running and they split the progressive vote.
But, really, I think there is a ceiling on# candidates who are explicitly described -- defined## as left-wing progressives in Democratic# primaries.
It's really only in deep blue## places like Ocasio-Cortez's district in New# York and a few other places where these true## left-wing progressives, democratic socialists,# have been able to get themselves elected.
But we have seen in a lot of races since then,# in Democratic primaries and general elections,## that they try and they fail.
So, one# of the arguments I make in the book is,## the future of this brand of progressivism may# not be through these particular politicians,## but through politicians like Joe Biden, who# kind of code as more moderate, as more centrist,## but who still take up and put into place a lot# of the politics that my characters gave rise to.
GEOFF BENNETT: The book is "The Rebels:# Elizabeth Warren, Bernie Sanders,## Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, and the# Struggle For a New America Joshua Green, thanks for# coming in.
Good to talk to you.
JOSHUA GREEN: Thanks so# much