Sidney Blumenthal is a former journalist, senior adviser to President Bill Clinton, and author. You also might remember him as the subject of Donald Trump's derision during the 2016 presidential campaign, during which Blumenthal advised Hillary Clinton.
He’s in Louisville to talk at the main library Tuesday night about his new book on Abraham Lincoln.
Blumenthal spoke with me about the current state of politics in America as well as Lincoln and his ties to Kentucky. Listen to our conversation in the player above.
On applying lessons from the time of Lincoln to the current political climate:
"Lincoln is resonant with us today -- from this period that I describe in this...in this book. And there's a lesson about even when things seem despairing, that as long as American democracy remains vibrant people have the opportunity to rise -- to deal with these problems."
On his strategy for handling President Trump's tweets if he worked in the White House:
"There is nobody who has ever had success, in his long life, in controlling Donald Trump. He is...unto himself and these are the conditions of a narcissist. So, the only person he may care about is his daughter, Ivanka. But he certainly hasn't listened to her about global warming and the Paris treaty. And it's very unclear whether anyone can get a grasp on his twitchy, tweeting fingers at this point."
Sidney Blumenthal's new book is called "Wrestling With His Angel: The Political Life of Abraham Lincoln." He'll speak tonight at the Louisville Free Public Main Library at 7 p.m. More information is available here.
