A longer column than usual from me.

Two recent developments in the presidential campaign have strengthened one school of thought about what a second Trump administration would bring. Both have been taken to mean that if Donald Trump wins in November, the next four years will see a more disciplined effort to recast American government than we saw from 2017 through 2021. The first is Trump’s choice of Sen. J.D. Vance (Ohio) as a running mate. The second is the intensifying Democratic attack on Project 2025, the Heritage Foundation’s set of plans for a second Trump administration. . . . But although both Trump’s most ardent fans and his fiercest foes have convinced themselves otherwise, it’s not at all obvious that he would accomplish more than he did last time.

I go on to suggest that some of the people who want to avoid the mistakes of the previous term and build on its successes are working from a mistaken diagnosis.

P.S.: I also interviewed New Hampshire’s Republican governor Chris Sununu earlier today. You can watch us here.