Meet the Harvard whiz kid who wants to explain Trumpism: A new journal, American Affairs, aims to lay the intellectual foundation for the Trump movement (and more). If you bought into the whole "drain the swamp" nonsense, I have some very bad news for you: Ignoring promises, Trump taps Wall Street lawyer Jay Clayton to oversee Wall Street as head the Securities and Exchange Commission (and more). Trump's agenda would boost his bottom line: Republicans are promising moves that would be a boon to Trump's finances, including one tax change that could save his family $4 billion or more. Ed Kilgore on four potential stumbling blocks for the new Republican Congress. Republicans' plan to repeal Obamacare might be collapsing already (and more). Mitch McConnell's entire career has been about gaining power — what happens now that he has it? Jeff Stein interviews Alec MacGillis, author of The Cynic: The Political Education of Mitch McConnell.
In 2009, the Right openly hoped Obama would fail, and set out to make it so: An excerpt from Alt-America: The Rise of the Radical Right in the Age of Trump by David Neiwert. Genuine expert on fascism David Neiwert speaks about Glenn Greenwald and the rise of fascism. Donald Trump isn't a fascist: Sheri Berman explains that Trump is a right-wing populist, not a fascist — and the distinction matters. Carlos Lozada reviews The Elephant in the Room: A Journey into the Trump Campaign and the "Alt-Right" by Jon Ronson. Study: Racism and sexism predict support for Trump much more than economic dissatisfaction.
