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Trump’s legitimation crisis

From Literary Hub, a symposium on President Trump, One Month Later. Nixon's former attorney sees "echoes of Watergate" in President Trump's first month. The story of the week is Trump, Russia and the FBI — the rest is a distraction. What lay behind Russia's interference in the 2016 election and what lies ahead? Evan Osnos, David Remnick, and Joshua Yaffa on Trump, Putin, and the new cold war. Daniel Bessner on why Michael Flynn's foreign policy ideas will live on in Trump's White House. Sebastian Gorka is the Islamophobic huckster in the White House (and more). Senior Trump aide Sebastian Gorka forged key ties to anti-Semitic groups in Hungary. H.R. McMaster breaks with administration on views of Islam. McMaster has the Islamophobes worried, and that's a good thing. We looked at the new national security adviser's writings — turns out he's the anti-Bannon. Will Trump take "brutally forthright" advice from McMaster?

Donald Trump can do a lot with the "deep state": Even if the deep state isn't real, the idea of one could do real damage. Why the leaks won't stop: President Trump may rage and fume, but as long as there are holdouts in the government who disagree with him, there's very little he can do to stop them from leaking. In sweeping move, Trump puts regulation monitors in U.S. agencies. Trump's big agenda: Reagan started it, Bush expanded it — now conservatives are poised to privatize everything in sight.

Trump will likely sell out his working-class white base — here's how. Trump voters, your savior is betraying you. At least so far Trump has needed to sustain a pretty continuous level of just batshit crazy stuff to keep his numbers in the 40% approval range. Nate Silver on why polls differ on Trump's popularity. Trump is unpopular, but not as unpopular as liberals think.

President Trump wants to put on a show — governing matters less. Michael Kennedy on the conflicts and contradictions shaping Trump's legitimation crisis.