Exclusive: The Mitch Daniels interview

The outgoing Purdue University president on the Trump era, whether he has a future in politics, and Indiana's best tenderloin.

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind.—The last time a national audience heard from Mitch Daniels on political matters was his 2012 State of the Union response to then-President Barack Obama, a typically writerly speech of his in which he began by arguing it was the “loyal opposition’s” responsibility to “show respect for the presidency and its occupant, to express agreement where it exists.” (Yes, people actually talked like that a decade ago.)

That year, Daniels, the term-limited Indiana governor, had such an inside lane on his party’s nomination that many of his Republican megadonors believed he would run. Instead, he chose to get out of politics altogether. By 2013, he was president of Purdue University, his official off-ramp from politics. Ten years and a political era later, Daniels has refashioned himself into a national leader on higher education reform; he famously held tuition at Purdue at the same price for that same amount of time.

Sitting in his office in Hovde Hall, Daniels and I spoke for more than an hour about his political future, the young Republican senator he’s most excited about, and more.

THE HIGHLIGHTS:

• On whether his brand of conservatism could survive in the current moment, should he run for a third term as governor: “I don’t know. I’ve been in isolation and quarantine for 10 years. In one way I think about it, maybe I haven’t been infected by the viruses that are running around on both sides.”

• On recent criticism of his economic development approach as governor: “It’s just totally misguided, and basically, the fundamental flaw is nobody ever said that this “better sandbox” would solve every problem for all time. It was necessary but not sufficient.”

• On Trump’s election and the ensuing era: I’ve got friends of mine who were mortified at the 2016 outcome, people who are passionate members of the Democratic Party who ask me, “How could this happen?” I said, “It’s not complicated. If you look down your nose at someone long enough, one day they will punch you in it.” And I think that’s what happened.

• On whether 80 is too old to be president: “I think it probably is. I haven’t been 80, so I can’t say for sure. I know there are people who think it is a very iffy thing. You know, the first president I worked for, Ronald Reagan, his detractors told him he was too old at 69.”

DANIELS OUTTAKES

A few of our exchanges were a bit too parochial for a national publication.

• On whether he’d run for mayor of Indianapolis: “I have lived most of my life in the city limits, I now live a mile out of the city limits, so I'm not even eligible. I'm too lazy to pick up a move, and on top of that, I just think that just be would be unseemly, it'd be artificial.”

• On the state of downtown Indianapolis: “It’s easier to identify the problems than to tell you what exactly can be done. They have to get very serious about law enforcement. It’s the first duty of government at any level. You have to have a downtown area where people feel safe in every respect. Every downtown has been hit by the egress, at least temporarily, of workers and businesses that creates economic vitality and social vibrancy and everything we love about big cities. And so Indianapolis is not all that unusual in that respect.”

• On Indiana’s best fried pork tenderloin: Top Notch in Brookston. “My order was called “Daniels’ Dilemma” because I go in the first time, I said, “I want the tenderloin.” “You want a grilled or breaded?” “Which is better? You said they're both good. Could you give me half and a half?”

IMPORTANTVILLE READS

“What Comes Next For Mitch Daniels?" by me in Indianapolis Monthly

If he doesn’t reconsider politics, Daniels could find a home in sports. At Purdue, he wrote a secret letter to keep football coach Jeff Brohm from leaving for Louisville. He advocated for banning “IU sucks” chants and argued that the Old Oaken Bucket game should be moved to Lucas Oil Stadium. A Dodgers fan—he picked them as his team when he was 5 for no apparent reason—Daniels has been bandied about as a future commissioner of Major League Baseball. Bush, the former owner of the Texas Rangers and connected to the league, once broached the idea with him, but nothing came of it at the time. Daniels has also been mentioned as the head of the NCAA when Mark Emmert steps down next year, following in the footsteps of Myles Brand, who went to the NCAA after leaving the presidency of Indiana University. “Whoever takes that job, and I’m not sure anyone could deliver this, should say, ‘I’ve got to have the following authority that doesn’t exist today and never has,’” Daniels told Howey Politics Indiana. “‘I’ve got to have this broad remit here.’ Otherwise, I don’t think anyone could.”