Cedric de Leon (Tufts): Crisis Politics: Comparing the Decline of “Inclusive” Racial Democracy in the U.S. Secession Crisis and the Election of Donald Trump. You can thank leakers for new Russia sanctions: A good policy outcome, but “unmasking” helped set a troubling precedent that forced Trump to capitulate. Forget Breitbart: The White House has a new favorite rightwing media outlet — Circa, a video-heavy site aimed at viewers in their teens and 20s. Calls to investigate Clinton pose a challenge to U.S. political norms. All the scary deadlines Congress is facing this fall. The biggest stories of the Trump era may not be about Trump: Gene editing, lab-based meat, single-payer, and climate may define our age.
Rise of the generals: Why it’s entirely possible to be both horrified and heartened by the growing political influence of America’s military leaders. This Trump real estate deal looks awfully like criminal tax fraud. Jia Tolentino on the land of the large adult son. Steve Bannon, Dinesh D’Souza, and Andrew Jackson: Can this relationship be saved? Tarini Parti on Trump’s inner circle of people. Why is Trump so reluctant to defend us from Russia’s lie machine? A guide to the shrinking GOP presence in Trump’s West Wing. The emptiness of Trump’s promises of tolerance. They’re building a Trump-centric movement — but don’t call it Trumpism. Trump’s rhetoric is offensive, but is it an impeachable offense?
From Lawyers, Guns and Money, Daniel Nexon on why the right-wing war on George Soros matters; and Scott Lemieux on how the Republican establishment was and is all-in on Trump. It’s not a coup — the president is just incompetent. What’s next for progressives? The case for prioritizing children, not single-payer. Trump’s new chief of staff reportedly restored “order” — nobody told the president. Stop pretending that Trump can be saved from himself. No one can rein in Donald Trump. Why Christian nationalists love Trump. We analyzed 17 months of Fox & Friends transcripts — it’s far weirder than state-run media. Should liberals choose sides between White House factions?
Obama’s legacy is finally coming into focus, thanks to Trump. Edward Luttwak on why the Trump dynasty will last sixteen years. What’s it like to see a democracy destroyed? Hannah Dreier spent years covering the implosion of Venezuela; her takeaway is a sobering one — there’s no rule that says that a miserable situation has to end, just because it’s too miserable. Trump wants a culture war — are Democrats ready to fight back? How Trump’s FCC aided Sinclair’s expansion: Use of a regulatory loophole will allow Sinclair to reach 72 percent of U.S. households after buying Tribune’s stations. Essay collections by resistance writers are heavy on emotion, and light on practical responses for the Trump era.
How the Trump hotel changed Washington’s culture of influence: The hotel’s managers press conservative, Republican and Christian groups to do business where they can rub shoulders with Trump’s Cabinet. The anatomy of a Trump administration resignation letter: In Washington, only a tiny fraction of bureaucrats quit their jobs in a blaze of glory — here’s how the rest do it. The rise of the violent Left: Antifa’s activists say they’re battling burgeoning authoritarianism on the American Right — are they fueling it instead? “Apply by fax”: Before it can hire foreign workers, Trump’s Mar-a-Lago Club advertises at home — briefly. How a pro-Trump Twitter scheme fell apart after a retweet from the president.
“We just don’t really matter”: How to break through in the Trump era.
