McKay Coppins joined Peter Kadzis and Adam Reilly in the lobby of the Radisson Hotel in Manchester, New Hampshire. Credit: Amanda McGowan

McKay Coppins, senior political writer at Buzzfeed News and author of "The Wilderness: Deep Inside the Republican Party's Combative, Contentious, Chaotic Quest To Take Back the White House," weighs in on the Republican race for the presidential nomination (and explains what it's like to get in a flame war with Donald Trump.)

“What we used to call the Republican establishment—the loose coalition of party committees, corporate interest, and moderate-minded country club patrician types—they just don’t have the influence anymore," Coppins explained, tracing the unlikely rise of Donald Trump and the collapse of more mainstream campaigns like Jeb Bush's.

“In a lot of ways, the establishment has just kind of imploded in on itself," Coppins said.

Coppins sat down with reporter Adam Reilly and WGBHNews.org Senior Editor Peter Kadzis in the lobby of the Radisson Hotel in Manchester, New Hampshire. To hear their conversation, tune in above.