JL;DR SUMMARY Renowned journalist Adam Serwer, known for his poignant essay "The Cruelty is the Point" during the first Trump presidency, discusses with Peter Beinart how cruelty manifests in American politics as Donald Trump re-emerges onto the scene. A way out west there was a fella, fella I want to tell you about, fella by the name of Jeff Lebowski. At least, that was the handle his lovin' parents gave him, but he never had much use for it himself. This Lebowski, he called himself the Dude. Now, Dude, that's a name no one would self-apply where I come from. But then, there was a lot about the Dude that didn't make a whole lot of sense to me. And a lot about where he lived, likewise. But then again, maybe that's why I found the place s'durned innarestin'.