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America has become increasingly polarized when it comes to trust. Voters who distrust the system \u2014 who see institutions as corrupt and are prone to conspiracy theories \u2014 have long existed on the far left and far right. But Donald Trump seems to have sparked a realignment, what the writer Matthew Yglesias calls \u201cthe crank realignment.\u201d The G.O.P. is now the political home of the distrustful, and Robert F. Kennedy Jr.\u2019s Trump endorsement was a clear sign of these changing times.\n\nIn 2020, Pete Buttigieg wrote a book on trust in politics. And he\u2019s been persistent in making the case \u2014 in speeches, on TV \u2014 for what he calls \u201ca better kind of politics.\u201d So I wanted to talk to him about his theory of politics. Why does he think so many Americans have lost trust in the government? What responsibility does the Democratic Party have here? And how does he believe trust can be restored?\n\nNote: I invited Buttigieg on the show in his personal capacity so we could discuss his thoughts on the election without violating the Hatch Act, which prohibits members of the government from campaigning in their official guise. This also means I wasn't able to ask Buttigieg many questions about his work as transportation secretary. But I think we still had a pretty fascinating conversation.\n\nBook Recommendations:\n\nMorning and Evening by Jon Fosse\n\nThe Future Is History by Masha Gessen\n\nMr. Churchill in the White House by Robert Schmuhl\n\nThoughts? Guest suggestions? Email us at ezrakleinshow@nytimes.com.\n\nYou can find transcripts (posted midday) and more episodes of \u201cThe Ezra Klein Show\u201d at nytimes.com/ezra-klein-podcast. Book recommendations from all our guests are listed at https://www.nytimes.com/article/ezra-klein-show-book-recs.\n\nThis episode of \u201cThe Ezra Klein Show\u201d was produced by Rollin Hu. Fact-checking by Michelle Harris, with Kate Sinclair. Our senior engineer is Jeff Geld, with additional mixing by Aman Sahota. Our senior editor is Claire Gordon. The show\u2019s production team also includes Annie Galvin, Elias Isquith and Kristin Lin. Original music by Isaac Jones. Audience strategy by Kristina Samulewski and Shannon Busta. The executive producer of New York Times Opinion Audio is Annie-Rose Strasser. Special thanks to Jonah Kessel, Elliot DeBruyn and Selcuk Karaoglan.