R. Emmett Tyrrell Jr. is the founder and editor in chief of the American Spectator. His latest book is, “How Do We Get Out of Here?: Half a Century of Laughter and Mayhem at The American Spectator―From Bobby Kennedy to Donald Trump.” 

Federal Newswire:

Why is humor so important when dealing with important issues?

R. Emmett Tyrrell Jr.:

Well, humor is the best way to report on what's going on in Washington. A lot of memoirs tend to grump and groan and talk about how miserable life was for them. Life was a bowl of cherries for me. I had a wonderful time, and so I want to share it with you guys.

We make sense out of what we're talking about and that's why we are pretty much a happy crew at the American Spectator.

Federal Newswire:

Are you surprised by the resurgence of Bobby Kennedy Jr.? 

R. Emmett Tyrrell Jr.:

Well, yes, but I'm surprised that he's come from no place to return to the public light and he's doing a good job of it on most things, and that's why I've been in contact with him. 

I think he ought to be on our side on some things. Bob Kennedy Senior, was partially on our side, partially on the side of the left. It's not often noted, but if you read the book you'll find that he was rather conservative on some things. He was attacked by the New York Times for his conservative streak...A great question is where would he be today? Where would [his brother] John be today? I take this up in the book.

Federal Newswire:

New Deal Democrats are very conservative now, but they will still defend FDR and the New Deal. Is this where JFK or RFK Senior might be today?

R. Emmett Tyrrell Jr.:

I don't really know. I do know that … the whole neoconservative movement was made up of ex-liberals, Jeane Kirkpatrick, Irving Kristol, and these are all people whom I [discuss] in the book. 

It's interesting to look back on them 30 years later and see what they were doing then and what they're doing today. Of course, what they're doing today is pumping up flowers.

Federal Newswire:

Are our politics today beyond satire and parody?

R. Emmett Tyrrell Jr.:

Well, the liberals don't even attempt it. They're stuck with serious mode. We're the only people that attempt it, and sometimes we fall flat on our face, but other times I think we're pretty funny. 

I think this book is a pretty funny book. I want to point out that I wrote it with the intent of entertaining people, and I think I've entertained quite a few people with this book. I think I'll entertain quite a few more.

Federal Newswire:

What do you think your past self would be most surprised about the world today, whether it's Washington or the world generally, or politics?

R. Emmett Tyrrell Jr.:

Well, I say in the book that this has been a period for at least 40 years of episodic chaos, and then there'd be a breakthrough of episodic calm, and then there'd be episodic chaos again. We're right now in the longest period of episodic chaos that we've had, and we're going to watch and see what happens. But it is a time of chaos and that's what we're living through right now.

Federal Newswire:

Are some people in the business of talking about what's going on more afraid to tell the truth?

R. Emmett Tyrrell Jr.:

Well, I don't know. They're afraid to tell the truth, but they aren't telling the truth and we're doing it. And we're having a good time and they're having a bad time. 

I wonder about it myself. Why are they so glum? Why are they so grim? Can't they come up with something? Why don't they call me up? I'll tell them what's funny about conservatives if they want to know, but I don't think I'll be getting a phone call very soon.

We have a supper club at the American Spectator called the Saturday Evening Club which never meets on Saturday. I have spent years trying to get liberals to attend. I've actually invited them as my special guests, and I've got two out of about 35 invited. Those two insisted on 

Federal Newswire:

You made a speech last year where you pleaded for conservatives to not dismiss the conflict in Ukraine. How does Putin’s thuggery play into it?

R. Emmett Tyrrell Jr.:

I do think that Putin is far from a communist. I don't know. He is a mafioso. A thug. I'm shocked to hear him say free enterprise things when that's not exactly where he came from or where he comes from now. I think all he comes from now is a realm of thugs. 

Federal Newswire:

How are liberals and conservatives different in their pursuit of politics?

R. Emmett Tyrrell Jr.:

[There is] an element in American public life that's not serious at all about politics, and yet they win time and time again. Why do they win time and time again? 

I say in this book, conservatives have a libido for politics, which is the libido of a gentleman. The liberals have the libido of a sex maniac. That’s why I would talk about that in the book. I think it's very interesting that time and time again we lose to the liberals because we're soft pedal politics in a way that is unthinkable amongst liberals.

Federal Newswire:

Is this why Donald Trump is so popular?

R. Emmett Tyrrell Jr.:

I end the book with a discussion of Donald Trump. He has almost single-handedly taken on the left. He's now got Putin on his side. I'm for Putin and him.

I was one of the first people to come out for Donald Trump, and I've advocated his cause for quite a while, but Donald Trump took every punch that was thrown at him and tried to return the punch. If Donald Trump had been Ronald Reagan, he'd have ignored the liberals and he'd have gone on to great things. 

Donald Trump accomplished some very great things, but he didn't end the Cold War. He didn't lower the taxes the way that Ronald Reagan did. He should have contended himself with that exercise rather than fighting with the liberals constantly, and it hurt him. He's not the man that I supported back in the last election. He's a different man, and it's a shame because he did a great job for a while there.

Federal Newswire:

Would you want to see a return to the old smoke-filled back rooms at conventions, where deals were cut among politicians?

R. Emmett Tyrrell Jr.:

I do. Are you up in Chicago? The first Mayor Daley showed the way for politics for years up there. He had the best run city in the United States, and he ran it from a smoke-filled room. I'd join in on the smoke-filled room and we're so far removed from [those] days.

You used to get really professional politicians in office. Now you get amateurs. Obama was more of an entertainer than a serious politician. He's not the only one. Most of the Democrats are entertainers, they're not politicians.

Federal Newswire:

If he had a smoke-filled backroom would Donald Trump listen to the outcome or would he just go off and do his own thing anyway?

R. Emmett Tyrrell Jr.:

Well, he'd always do his own thing. I worked for him…as an unpaid associate, and I saw he went his own way, time and time again, and he didn't need any advisors. Some of the times his advice was very good to himself, but it only got him so far.

Federal Newswire:

Are there any favorite moments that come to mind over your career?

R. Emmett Tyrrell Jr.:

Well, the Troopergate story. Tom Wolf said it was the best story, the most important story published in the whole 20th century. It changed our view of women in politics. It changed our view of sex in politics, and it changed our view of what we could say about politics. Bill Clinton is still cursing that we can say anything we want about politics. 

I'll tell you another interesting story that's in this book. 

Ronald Reagan was very close to me, or I was very close to Ronald Reagan. He wanted to lower taxes, he wanted to end the Cold War, but he also wanted to change our culture…and Jim Baker and these people didn't want to do that. So I finagled my way into the office with him, and I tried to help him change the culture. The research is all in the book.

He tried very hard to change the culture, but he couldn't do it, and he eventually gave up. But that's one of the things that been very rarely reported, but it should be discussed more. It's a major break, a major demarche in the Reagan administration.