Charlie Sykes, Improv Comedy, Learning From Past Presidents’ Failures

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• Conservative Talk Show Host Charlie Sykes On Trump's America

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  Wisconsin was home to a powerful #NeverTrump conservative movement. And one of the most influential people that voiced their concerns about Trump was Charlie Sykes, the long-time conservative talk show host on WTMJ in Milwaukee. We talk to Sykes about what the road ahead looks like to anti-Trump Republicans.

• Charlie Sykes Looks To The Road Ahead For Republicans

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  Charlie Sykes has about 18 more shows to go before he leaves Wisconsin’s airwaves for good. The talk radio host has been an influential conservative voice in the state for more than two decades, and his opinion has influenced conservatism in Wisconsin and beyond.

  The longtime radio host isn’t making a quiet exit, though. The tail end of Sykes’ career has been marked by being a leader in the #NeverTrump movement, an explosive interview with the President-elect, as well as criticism of the Republicans who backed Donald Trump.

  In a blog post from October, Sykes, 62, said his choice to step down wasn’t motivated by the political climate, but he admitted it wasn’t entirely independent of it either.

  “Twenty-three years is a long time to do a radio show and most hosts don’t get to go out on their own terms. So I’m lucky to have had that chance. But it would also be fair to say that this campaign has made the decision easier,” Sykes wrote in the post, adding he believed American conservatism had been “damaged.”

  Now, less than two weeks after Trump won the election, Sykes said being an anti-Trump Republican can be lonely.

  “I knew that the conservatives were going to be in the wilderness after this election one way or another, I didn’t realize that it was going to be a small desert island. It sort of feels that way,” he said.

  Sykes reiterated criticisms of Trump’s character and temperament that rose early in the campaign cycle, and called him “thin-skinned, vindictive and erratic.” But he showed his disapproval of some of Trump’s more recent choices, too – the appointment of Steve Bannon, former executive chair of Breitbart News, as his chief strategist.

  “That decision to put Steve Bannon that close to the President of the United States is concerning,” he said. “Steve Bannon represents something genuinely disturbing … this association with what is known as the alt-right, which has close ties to white nationalism (and) white supremacy.”

  But Trump has also brought a mainstream Republican into his inner circle – Chairman of the Republican National Committee Reince Priebus. Priebus is a friend of House Speaker Paul Ryan and a product of Wisconsin conservatism, which Sykes described as a very different style of conservatism than Trump’s. The incoming White House Chief of Staff, in Sykes’ opinion, will likely be tasked with building a bridge between the White House and Congress.

  “This is one of the most important jobs that Reince Priebus has got, which is to find a way to keep that relationship with Paul Ryan on track,” he said, alluding to the rocky relationship the Speaker of the House had with Trump throughout the presidential campaign.

  Sykes laid out his hopes for the role Congress would play over the next few years, because the November election didn’t just usher in a candidate that the #NeverTrump leader vehemently opposed, it also brought a majority-Republican House and Senate. He talked about legislation that would boost the economy, provide jobs and comprehensive tax reforms he said would “roll back the abuses from the (President Barack) Obama administration.”

  But passing legislation wasn’t all Sykes said he hoped Congress would do.

  “I hope they hold him accountable to the constitutional norms, to the political norms,” he said of Congress’ relationship with Trump. “I hope they don’t feel the need to simply defend and enable and rationalize everything this president does.”

  Sykes said he plans to support and challenge the president-elect where he deems necessary. And even though his broadcast career is wrapping up, the radio host said he’ll continue thinking about the most recent election.

  “I’m going to sit down and write a book, which has the tentative working title, “How the Right Lost It’s Mind” … (and look) backward at what just happened to us.”

• Wisconsin Life: Improv Comedy

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  From stand-up open mics to improv classes, Wisconsin is home to many outlets for comedic performance. We talk to a voice actor and comedian about the improv scene in Wisconsin.

• Advice For The New President: How NOT To Fail

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  President-elect Trump and his administration should learn from the failures of past presidents, if they want their policy proposals to succeed. That’s according to the author of the book Why President Fail.”