thebulwark--2020-06-03--Trump’s Republican National Convention and the Psychology of Obedience

Last night President Trump announced that he is pulling the August Republican National Convention out of Charlotte , displeased that North Carolina Governor Roy Cooper has sought to mitigate the risks of coronavirus by scaling down the event .
Presumably , appropriate public safety measures would also include the wearing of masks and some social distancing .
Instead , Trump now seeks a location where some 20,000 Republicans can dutifully pack into a convention center and enthusiastically cheer his renomination .
Presumably with no public health strictures—especially not masks .
The conventioneers who eventually show up for this event , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of two groups of people .
The first are those convinced that the COVID-19 crisis was a hoax , or at least substantially overblown .
Among this crowd will be people who view masks , as a supposedly respectable journalist recently suggested , as unpresidential , if not the exclusive province of “ liberal pussies.
” But these people are not very interesting .
Every group has its extremists .
What is interesting is that there will almost certainly be Republican National Convention attendees who do view the coronavirus as a serious public @ @ @ @ @ @ @ bet dollars to donuts that some of these people—most , I expect—will put health concerns to the side for the sake of conformity .
It won ’ t be the first compromise , of course .
Over the last four years , many reasonable Republicans have found themselves tolerating an escalating range of presidential behaviors they ’ d have condemned during any previous administration .
How did we get here ?
Part of the explanation is the pragmatic reality of Trump ’ s Twitter presence : The kind of people who are deeply @ @ @ @ @ @ @ go to a national convention live with the knowledge that failure to exhibit conspicuous loyalty to Trump always carries the possibility of a public flogging and the mobilization of Trump ’ s base against their interests .
We saw the impact of Trump ’ s strategic intimidation most recently when , as A.B .
Stoddard described , the National Republican Senatorial Committee ( NRSC ) distributed a memo urging GOP candidates not to defend Trump ’ s handling of the pandemic , and instead suggested they “ attack China.
” Yet “ after @ @ @ @ @ @ @ “ the NRSC walked this back.
” Total fealty is required .
That this phenomenon is manifest in a party previously defined by moral principles and a fierce small-government , independent , anti-authoritarian streak—as Tim Alberta describes so beautifully and so painfully in his book American Carnage—defies all expectation .
Over five decades ago , the psychologist Leon Festinger described how we manage the dilemma that ’ s presented when we privately believe one thing , but publicly assert the opposite .
This situation generates what Festinger called “ cognitive dissonance.
” This @ @ @ @ @ @ @ rest of Festinger ’ s theory has been forgotten .
Festinger proposed that people do not typically remain in this uncomfortable state .
Instead , cognitive dissonance is often resolved by people subconsciously modifying their private views to better align them with their public sentiments , and not the other way around .
This may help explain why , after Trump skeptics cross over and express their support , they seem to be drawn ever further into the fold .
But surely , when confronted with an acknowledged health risk—like attending ( a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ force some to snap to their senses and break the spell , right ?
Maybe .
It ’ s possible that some potential attendees will find a way to beg off .
But most are likely to attend .
Having rationalized so much already , they are likely to find it less psychologically stressful to wade in further than to stop and ask themselves how they got in so deep .
The kicker is that rather than resenting Trump or the Republican party for demanding their participation , the attendees are far more @ @ @ @ @ @ @ with even firmer convictions , as classic data around the psychology of hazing , from scientists at Stanford and the U.S. Army Leadership Human Research Unit , suggests .
“ Subjects who underwent a severe initiation ” in order to become part of a group , the researchers concluded in 1959 , “ perceived the group as being significantly more attractive than did those who underwent a mild initiation or no initiation.
” The proposed explanation ?
“ Festinger ’ s theory of cognitive dissonance ” —that is , if someone has gone @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of a group , this can be “ dissonant with his cognition that there are things about the group that he does not like.
” To reduce this dissonance , an initiate can either “ convince himself that the initiation was not very unpleasant , or he can exaggerate the positive characteristics of the group and minimize its negative aspects , ” the researchers explain .
The more severe the initiation , the less viable the first option becomes , and the more the person must overestimate the attractiveness of the group .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ their psychology , ” Duke professor Dan Ariely told me .
While emphatically not endorsing this approach himself , he acknowledges that “ forcing people to take a risk [ like showing up at a crowded convention during the COVID crisis ] can actually increase loyalty.
” As repugnant as the idea of a president insisting on a fully packed convention against virtually all medical advice is , Trump ’ s psychological instincts may be uncannily sound .
Whatever else you want to say about Donald Trump , he is a keen student @ @ @ @ @ @ @ vast majority of attendees are likely to do just fine , even if the convention itself becomes a superspreader event .
It ’ s possible that some participants could return to their communities and disseminate the virus .
But that would all happen invisibly and at some remove—both temporally and geographically—from the event .
And even that bad outcome isn ’ t a certainty .
What is certain is that virtually all participants from the convention will emerge fired up , fiercely loyal , and more determined than ever to do everything they @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Dear Leader .

Last night President Trump announced that he is pulling the August Republican National Convention out of Charlotte, displeased that North Carolina Governor Roy Cooper has sought to mitigate the risks of coronavirus by scaling down the event. Presumably, appropriate public safety measures would also include the wearing of masks and some social distancing.
Instead, Trump now seeks a location where some 20,000 Republicans can dutifully pack into a convention center and enthusiastically cheer his renomination. Presumably with no public health strictures—especially not masks.
The conventioneers who eventually show up for this event, sans masks, will be made up of two groups of people. The first are those convinced that the COVID-19 crisis was a hoax, or at least substantially overblown. Among this crowd will be people who view masks, as a supposedly respectable journalist recently suggested, as unpresidential, if not the exclusive province of “liberal pussies.”
But these people are not very interesting. Every group has its extremists.
What is interesting is that there will almost certainly be Republican National Convention attendees who do view the coronavirus as a serious public health crisis.
Nevertheless, you can bet dollars to donuts that some of these people—most, I expect—will put health concerns to the side for the sake of conformity.
It won’t be the first compromise, of course. Over the last four years, many reasonable Republicans have found themselves tolerating an escalating range of presidential behaviors they’d have condemned during any previous administration.
How did we get here?
Podcast · August 15 2023 A.B. Stoddard: All the Ex-President’s Conspirators Donald Trump has been a low-rent mobster for his entire career, and now he’s getting…
Part of the explanation is the pragmatic reality of Trump’s Twitter presence: The kind of people who are deeply enough enmeshed in the Republican party to go to a national convention live with the knowledge that failure to exhibit conspicuous loyalty to Trump always carries the possibility of a public flogging and the mobilization of Trump’s base against their interests.
We saw the impact of Trump’s strategic intimidation most recently when, as A.B. Stoddard described, the National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC) distributed a memo urging GOP candidates not to defend Trump’s handling of the pandemic, and instead suggested they “attack China.” Yet “after a scolding,” says Stoddard, “the NRSC walked this back.” Total fealty is required.
That this phenomenon is manifest in a party previously defined by moral principles and a fierce small-government, independent, anti-authoritarian streak—as Tim Alberta describes so beautifully and so painfully in his book American Carnage—defies all expectation.
But Twitter cowardice doesn’t explain everything.
Over five decades ago, the psychologist Leon Festinger described how we manage the dilemma that’s presented when we privately believe one thing, but publicly assert the opposite.
This situation generates what Festinger called “cognitive dissonance.” This term has become familiar, but the rest of Festinger’s theory has been forgotten. Festinger proposed that people do not typically remain in this uncomfortable state. Instead, cognitive dissonance is often resolved by people subconsciously modifying their private views to better align them with their public sentiments, and not the other way around.
This may help explain why, after Trump skeptics cross over and express their support, they seem to be drawn ever further into the fold.
But surely, when confronted with an acknowledged health risk—like attending (a probably maskless) packed political convention—that would force some to snap to their senses and break the spell, right?
Maybe. It’s possible that some potential attendees will find a way to beg off. But most are likely to attend. Having rationalized so much already, they are likely to find it less psychologically stressful to wade in further than to stop and ask themselves how they got in so deep.
The kicker is that rather than resenting Trump or the Republican party for demanding their participation, the attendees are far more likely to emerge from such a convention with even firmer convictions, as classic data around the psychology of hazing, from scientists at Stanford and the U.S. Army Leadership Human Research Unit, suggests.
“Subjects who underwent a severe initiation” in order to become part of a group, the researchers concluded in 1959, “perceived the group as being significantly more attractive than did those who underwent a mild initiation or no initiation.”
The proposed explanation? “Festinger’s theory of cognitive dissonance”—that is, if someone has gone through an unpleasant initiation to become part of a group, this can be “dissonant with his cognition that there are things about the group that he does not like.”
To reduce this dissonance, an initiate can either “convince himself that the initiation was not very unpleasant, or he can exaggerate the positive characteristics of the group and minimize its negative aspects,” the researchers explain. The more severe the initiation, the less viable the first option becomes, and the more the person must overestimate the attractiveness of the group.
“Compelling people to do something changes their psychology,” Duke professor Dan Ariely told me. While emphatically not endorsing this approach himself, he acknowledges that “forcing people to take a risk [like showing up at a crowded convention during the COVID crisis] can actually increase loyalty.”
As repugnant as the idea of a president insisting on a fully packed convention against virtually all medical advice is, Trump’s psychological instincts may be uncannily sound. Whatever else you want to say about Donald Trump, he is a keen student of human weakness.
Statistically, the vast majority of attendees are likely to do just fine, even if the convention itself becomes a superspreader event. It’s possible that some participants could return to their communities and disseminate the virus. But that would all happen invisibly and at some remove—both temporally and geographically—from the event.
And even that bad outcome isn’t a certainty.
What is certain is that virtually all participants from the convention will emerge fired up, fiercely loyal, and more determined than ever to do everything they can to support the re-election of their Dear Leader.


thebulwark--2020-06-03--Putting the Watchdogs to Sleep

Putting the Watchdogs to Sleep

President Trump floated a head-scratching theory recently about the spread of the novel coronavirus .
“ If we didn ’ t do any testing , ” he said , “ we would have very few cases.
” Which is true in an esoteric way .
We ’ d have plenty of sick people and dead bodies , but on a sheet of paper we would not have a number written down that said “ number of confirmed coronavirus cases.
” That was a meaningful window into Trump ’ s psyche , because he ’ s now applying the same logic @ @ @ @ @ @ @ s no monitoring , there ’ s no problem .
Get rid of the watchdogs and—voila !
—there ’ s nothing to watch .
Trump ’ s war against federal inspectors general isn ’ t front-page news .
Still , it ’ s an unprecedented attack on the guardrails Congress installed in the post-Watergate era .
Had Trump fired all of the inspectors general in a single night , it might have aroused more outrage .
With time and repetition , though , the president has normalized the task of disposing of those @ @ @ @ @ @ @ his administration ’ s actions .
Over the last two months , Trump has purged five inspectors general .
He fired the IG responsible for kickstarting his impeachment ; he fired a pair of IGs tasked with monitoring the administration ’ s handling of the coronavirus ; he fired a State Department IG who was reportedly reviewing Secretary Pompeo ’ s abuse of taxpayer resources ( and arms sales to Saudi Arabia ) ; and he fired the Department of Transportation IG who was looking into whether Secretary Elaine Chao—who is married Sen. @ @ @ @ @ @ @ state her husband represents .
You know .
Because Donald Trump came to Washington to drain the swamp .
The 1978 Inspector General Act created offices inside federal agencies for the purpose of investigating fraud and reporting those findings to Congress .
Yet , while the act does grant presidents the power to appoint and remove IGs , Trump ’ s actions are far outside the norms .
In 1981 , President Ronald Reagan made the mistake of firing all 16 inspectors general upon taking office and faced such a backlash he quickly @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , presidents generally didn ’ t tamper with the offices until President Obama removed the AmeriCorps Inspector General Gerald Walpin in 2009 ( which didn ’ t go over well , either ) .
Suspicions over Walpin ’ s firing prompted a formal inquiry by Republicans , led by then-Senate Finance Committee Ranking Member Charles Grassley and House Oversight Committee and Government Reform Ranking Member Rep. Darrell Issa .
Several right-leaning media outlets accused President Obama of a cover-up .
In his formal communications to Congress notifying the body of his intent to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , President Trump has copied the vague language about “ losing confidence ” in the officials used by Obama in his controversial firing of Walpin .
Grassley , a longtime champion of inspectors general , has pressed the president for more explanation .
He has gotten none .
But all Grassley has to do is look at what the president has said in public in order to discover the man ’ s motivations .
Trump wanted vengeance against the IGs for doing their jobs .
IG Atkinson , for instance , was legally @ @ @ @ @ @ @ documented the president ’ s improper communications with Ukraine to Congress .
That complaint triggered impeachment .
So , Atkinson had been on Trump ’ s radar for a long time .
Atkinson was terminated on April 3 , about a month after the Senate voted against Trump ’ s conviction .
When asked by reporters on April 5 about the firing , Trump bluntly stated that it was retaliatory action .
“ I thought he did a terrible job .
Absolutely terrible .
He took a whistleblower report , which turned out @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , ” Trump said .
“ It was totally wrong .
It was about my conversation with the President of Ukraine .
He took a fake report , and he brought it to Congress , with an emergency .
Okay ?
Not a big Trump fan—that , I can tell you.
” Trump ’ s rampage against inspectors general continued through his coronavirus briefings .
During an April 6 press conference , he was asked about a report released by the Health and Human Services Principal Deputy Inspector General Christi Grimm .
It @ @ @ @ @ @ @ at hospitals .
Trump retorted , “ It ’ s just wrong ” and demanded that reporters tell him her name .
Trump said , “ What ’ s his name ?
” “ Where did he come from , the inspector general ?
” “ Find me his name , ” and “ Give me the name of the inspector general .
Could politics be entered into that ?
” ( Grimm is a woman . )
That same day , Glenn Fine , the Pentagon ’ s highly respected Acting Inspector @ @ @ @ @ @ @ chair a federal panel of inspectors general created by Congress to oversee Trump ’ s coronavirus spending , was told he was going to be replaced .
( Which meant he would be unable to chair the new oversight group . )
While Trump has been tight-lipped about his reasoning for firing Fine , it was plain to see how upset Trump was at the thought of people scrutinizing his administration ’ s management of the coronavirus .
Inspectors general were still on his mind the next morning , when after apparently finding @ @ @ @ @ @ @ publicly attacked her on Twitter .
He bashed Grimm , who joined HHS as a non-political employee in 1999 during the Clinton administration and served both Republican and Democratic presidents , for her service during the Obama years and described her report as “ Another Fake Dossier !
” Then , on May 1 , he announced her replacement .
After this , Trump moved on from firing inspectors general who might produce unfavorable reports about him , to firing those who might issue critical judgments about Pompeo and the power couple Chao/McConnell @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Linick , who had been investigating Secretary of State Mike Pompeo , on May 15 .
Why ?
Because , according to Trump , Pompeo asked him to .
Trump told reporters : “ I don ’ t know him .
Never heard of him .
But they asked me to terminate him .
I have the absolute right as president to terminate .
But you would have to ask Mike Pompeo .
But , they did ask me to do it , and I did it.
” A cabinet secretary asking the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ is investigating him is not a normal request .
Neither is it normal for the president to agree to the request without knowing anything about the matter or asking for further information .
Initially Pompeo said that Linick was wasting his time looking at requests Pompeo made to staff to walk his dog and made dinner arrangements for him and his wife .
The real story came out later .
Linick was reviewing President Trump ’ s decision to sell arms to Saudi Arabia without congressional approval .
And then another doozy came @ @ @ @ @ @ @ rumored to have presidential aspirations of his own and has previously explored a run for the Senate , had used taxpayer resources to host a series of lavish dinners at the State Department to court donors , celebrities , and media friends .
The same day Linick was let go , Trump stripped Transportation Acting Transportation Department Inspector General Mitch Behm of his duties .
Behm was reviewing actions taken by Transportation Secretary Chao that may have benefited her husband , Senate Majority Leader McConnell ( who is up for re-election this year @ @ @ @ @ @ @ this couple with the president ?
Just last weekend Secretary Chao appeared on the Team Trump Online broadcast .
It goes without saying that neither Pompeo , Chao , or McConnell would like to see reports written about any of that .
Thanks to Trump , those reports will , at the very least , be delayed after the elections , if ever issued at all .
Democrats have launched several probes to investigate these removals , but those inquiries will take time and will likely be lost in the maelstrom of chaos @ @ @ @ @ @ @ entire administration .
One of Trump ’ s great innovations of governance has been the realization that one scandal can be fatal .
A hundred scandals , on the other hand , blur into white noise .
This precept is his principal governing philosophy .
And like a fractal , this truism holds no matter how close you zoom in .
Even in the firing of the IGs Trump understood that it would cause him less trouble to fire more of them and to routinize the practice .
Atkinson , Grimm , Fine @ @ @ @ @ @ @ long line of other government officials who found themselves out of a job because they were in the way of Trump ’ s gangster government .
The Russia investigation led to the firings and forced resignations of former FBI Director James Comey , his Deputy Director Andrew McCabe , Acting Attorney General Sally Yates , and Attorney General Jeff Sessions , to name a handful .
Trump ’ s fusillades against Lt. Col. Alexander Vindman , Fiona Hill , and Marie Yovanovitch defined the impeachment hearings .
Vindman ’ s twin brother was @ @ @ @ @ @ @ that the more abuse there is , the less any of it matters .
Donald Trump may be reckless , uninformed , and cognitively limited .
But he has always possessed a certain kind of cunning .
He faced no significant consequence for his firings through the Russia investigation and impeachment and it is obvious that there is no force within the Republican party that will stop him from purging more officials who say or do anything that he finds politically inconvenient .
Pompeo ’ s petition shows that those who succeed Trump @ @ @ @ @ @ @ are not likely to forget this lesson .
As long as it works , they will repeat it .

President Trump floated a head-scratching theory recently about the spread of the novel coronavirus. “If we didn’t do any testing,” he said, “we would have very few cases.” Which is true in an esoteric way. We’d have plenty of sick people and dead bodies, but on a sheet of paper we would not have a number written down that said “number of confirmed coronavirus cases.”
That was a meaningful window into Trump’s psyche, because he’s now applying the same logic to government watchdogs. If there’s no monitoring, there’s no problem. Get rid of the watchdogs and—voila!—there’s nothing to watch.
Trump’s war against federal inspectors general isn’t front-page news. Still, it’s an unprecedented attack on the guardrails Congress installed in the post-Watergate era.
Had Trump fired all of the inspectors general in a single night, it might have aroused more outrage. With time and repetition, though, the president has normalized the task of disposing of those who raise legal and ethical concerns about his administration’s actions.
Over the last two months, Trump has purged five inspectors general. He fired the IG responsible for kickstarting his impeachment; he fired a pair of IGs tasked with monitoring the administration’s handling of the coronavirus; he fired a State Department IG who was reportedly reviewing Secretary Pompeo’s abuse of taxpayer resources (and arms sales to Saudi Arabia); and he fired the Department of Transportation IG who was looking into whether Secretary Elaine Chao—who is married Sen. Mitch McConnell—had given preferential treatment to the state her husband represents.
You know. Because Donald Trump came to Washington to drain the swamp.
Podcast · August 15 2023 A.B. Stoddard: All the Ex-President’s Conspirators Donald Trump has been a low-rent mobster for his entire career, and now he’s getting…
The 1978 Inspector General Act created offices inside federal agencies for the purpose of investigating fraud and reporting those findings to Congress. Yet, while the act does grant presidents the power to appoint and remove IGs, Trump’s actions are far outside the norms.
In 1981, President Ronald Reagan made the mistake of firing all 16 inspectors general upon taking office and faced such a backlash he quickly reinstated many of them. Since then, presidents generally didn’t tamper with the offices until President Obama removed the AmeriCorps Inspector General Gerald Walpin in 2009 (which didn’t go over well, either).
Suspicions over Walpin’s firing prompted a formal inquiry by Republicans, led by then-Senate Finance Committee Ranking Member Charles Grassley and House Oversight Committee and Government Reform Ranking Member Rep. Darrell Issa. Several right-leaning media outlets accused President Obama of a cover-up.
In his formal communications to Congress notifying the body of his intent to remove IGs, as required by law, President Trump has copied the vague language about “losing confidence” in the officials used by Obama in his controversial firing of Walpin. Grassley, a longtime champion of inspectors general, has pressed the president for more explanation. He has gotten none.
But all Grassley has to do is look at what the president has said in public in order to discover the man’s motivations. Trump wanted vengeance against the IGs for doing their jobs.
IG Atkinson, for instance, was legally bound to transmit the whistleblower complaint that documented the president’s improper communications with Ukraine to Congress. That complaint triggered impeachment. So, Atkinson had been on Trump’s radar for a long time.
Atkinson was terminated on April 3, about a month after the Senate voted against Trump’s conviction. When asked by reporters on April 5 about the firing, Trump bluntly stated that it was retaliatory action. “I thought he did a terrible job. Absolutely terrible. He took a whistleblower report, which turned out to be a fake report—it was fake,” Trump said. “It was totally wrong. It was about my conversation with the President of Ukraine. He took a fake report, and he brought it to Congress, with an emergency. Okay? Not a big Trump fan—that, I can tell you.”
Trump’s rampage against inspectors general continued through his coronavirus briefings. During an April 6 press conference, he was asked about a report released by the Health and Human Services Principal Deputy Inspector General Christi Grimm. It detailed testing and personal protective equipment shortages at hospitals. Trump retorted, “It’s just wrong” and demanded that reporters tell him her name. Trump said, “What’s his name?” “Where did he come from, the inspector general?” “Find me his name,” and “Give me the name of the inspector general. Could politics be entered into that?” (Grimm is a woman.)
That same day, Glenn Fine, the Pentagon’s highly respected Acting Inspector General, who was on track to chair a federal panel of inspectors general created by Congress to oversee Trump’s coronavirus spending, was told he was going to be replaced. (Which meant he would be unable to chair the new oversight group.) While Trump has been tight-lipped about his reasoning for firing Fine, it was plain to see how upset Trump was at the thought of people scrutinizing his administration’s management of the coronavirus.
Inspectors general were still on his mind the next morning, when after apparently finding out Grimm’s name, Trump publicly attacked her on Twitter. He bashed Grimm, who joined HHS as a non-political employee in 1999 during the Clinton administration and served both Republican and Democratic presidents, for her service during the Obama years and described her report as “Another Fake Dossier!” Then, on May 1, he announced her replacement.
After this, Trump moved on from firing inspectors general who might produce unfavorable reports about him, to firing those who might issue critical judgments about Pompeo and the power couple Chao/McConnell.
He terminated State Department IG Steve Linick, who had been investigating Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, on May 15. Why? Because, according to Trump, Pompeo asked him to. Trump told reporters: “I don’t know him. Never heard of him. But they asked me to terminate him. I have the absolute right as president to terminate. But you would have to ask Mike Pompeo. But, they did ask me to do it, and I did it.”
A cabinet secretary asking the president to ax an inspector general who is investigating him is not a normal request. Neither is it normal for the president to agree to the request without knowing anything about the matter or asking for further information.
Initially Pompeo said that Linick was wasting his time looking at requests Pompeo made to staff to walk his dog and made dinner arrangements for him and his wife. The real story came out later. Linick was reviewing President Trump’s decision to sell arms to Saudi Arabia without congressional approval. And then another doozy came out: Pompeo, who is widely rumored to have presidential aspirations of his own and has previously explored a run for the Senate, had used taxpayer resources to host a series of lavish dinners at the State Department to court donors, celebrities, and media friends.
The same day Linick was let go, Trump stripped Transportation Acting Transportation Department Inspector General Mitch Behm of his duties. Behm was reviewing actions taken by Transportation Secretary Chao that may have benefited her husband, Senate Majority Leader McConnell (who is up for re-election this year). How closely bound up is this couple with the president? Just last weekend Secretary Chao appeared on the Team Trump Online broadcast.
It goes without saying that neither Pompeo, Chao, or McConnell would like to see reports written about any of that. Thanks to Trump, those reports will, at the very least, be delayed after the elections, if ever issued at all.
Democrats have launched several probes to investigate these removals, but those inquiries will take time and will likely be lost in the maelstrom of chaos that has surrounded this president’s entire administration.
One of Trump’s great innovations of governance has been the realization that one scandal can be fatal. A hundred scandals, on the other hand, blur into white noise. This precept is his principal governing philosophy.
And like a fractal, this truism holds no matter how close you zoom in. Even in the firing of the IGs Trump understood that it would cause him less trouble to fire more of them and to routinize the practice.
Atkinson, Grimm, Fine, Linick, and Behm follow a long line of other government officials who found themselves out of a job because they were in the way of Trump’s gangster government.
The Russia investigation led to the firings and forced resignations of former FBI Director James Comey, his Deputy Director Andrew McCabe, Acting Attorney General Sally Yates, and Attorney General Jeff Sessions, to name a handful. Trump’s fusillades against Lt. Col. Alexander Vindman, Fiona Hill, and Marie Yovanovitch defined the impeachment hearings. Vindman’s twin brother was fired, too.
Because Trump understands that the more abuse there is, the less any of it matters.
Donald Trump may be reckless, uninformed, and cognitively limited. But he has always possessed a certain kind of cunning. He faced no significant consequence for his firings through the Russia investigation and impeachment and it is obvious that there is no force within the Republican party that will stop him from purging more officials who say or do anything that he finds politically inconvenient.
Pompeo’s petition shows that those who succeed Trump as the owner of the Republican party are not likely to forget this lesson. As long as it works, they will repeat it.


thebulwark--2020-06-03--Thank You Mister Trump!

Thank You Mister Trump!

This is not the sort of article you normally see here at The Bulwark , the world ’ s largest superspreader of Trump Derangement Syndrome .
And to be honest with you , I didn ’ t want to write it .
But somebody had to .
Because , my goodness , what a week it has been for Donald J. Trump .
I do not say this lightly : This might go down in history as one of the greatest—if not the greatest—demonstration of leadership the world has ever seen .
I had hoped that one of President Trump @ @ @ @ @ @ @ strikes ” defenders in the conservative media would have written this column so I didn ’ t have to but—and I know this sounds crazy—the cupboard seems to be prettttty bare when it comes to Trump attaboys out there on the internets .
I mean , aside from Whiplash Survivor Association of America spokesperson Scott Walker . )
Maybe it ’ s because the folks in Conservatism Inc. are all just so awed by the president ’ s performance that they ’ re struggling to find the right words to describe its magnificence @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the Federalist , the Daily Caller , Fox News , and the Daily Wire .
Lotta content about how bad the media is .
None of the sites are very big fans of antifa .
But not many pro-Trump attaboys .
Trump couldn ’ t even get a pat on the back from Tucker Carlson .
( Tucker was unhappy with the meager amount of antifa blood on the streets .
Just you wait , big guy . )
Where is the commentary in support of President Trump ’ s red hot tweets @ @ @ @ @ @ @ find a column praising Trump ’ s courageous decision to gas clergy members so he could hold a Bible in the air like it was a gross diaper he didn ’ t want to smell ?
Point me to the analysis of his Six Sigma management skills juggling the twin threats of people upset about “ police brutality ” while also handling the economic and public health crises from the coronavirus that he , like a modern Cassandra , kept warning America about .
If this isn ’ t the four-dimensional chess Trump @ @ @ @ @ @ @ about , then I don ’ t know what is .
I mean , any president could hold an interfaith prayer service or try to “ heal America.
” It takes a special kind of leader to make sure that the peaceful protesters get roughed up while looters run free and then—just as a lagniappe—start an international incident with Australia .
I popped up onto the Twitter feeds of some big Trump defenders on the Hill to see if I could find some Real American Patriots over there .
No dice .
Lindsey @ @ @ @ @ @ @ super nice job condemning China last week .
Gym Jordan was happy Our President was taking on the thugs at Twitter .
Marco Rubio , John Cornyn , and Ted Cruz are Very Mad about how mean the media is being to the poor fella .
Kasie Hunt cornered over a dozen Republicans yesterday and only Steve Daines was willing to give a meek nod towards the president ’ s leadership .
So I put out a request for any examples of Trump praise that was out there , and got nothing but @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
What does a president have to do to get some unadulterated love around here ?
Why isn ’ t anyone telling the president that he ’ s doing a great job with his poopies ?
So fine .
I guess I ’ ll have to do it .
Papa Dickie is proud of little Donald .
After all , the president is delivering on everything that he promised !
!
!
The man is pwning people left and right .
He ’ s instigating the kind of crackdown against minorities not seen @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the media and all those Never Trump losers simultaneously sad and angry .
We are witnessing the world ’ s greatest troll at the top of his game .
And that ’ s what the Forgotten Man has demanded from the start .
Seriously .
Just look at what President Trump accomplished in the past week : As the nation slowly unraveled over the death of George Floyd , the president quit caring about the Invisible Enemy and dedicated himself to taking on the real Enemies of the People : The media .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ Floyd ’ s death he fired off a tweet that was trademark Trump , the rascal .
Brit Hume mockingly shared a snapshot of Joe Biden wearing a mask to a Memorial Day service and Trump deadpanned “ I think he looks better.
” BAM .
I might ’ ve gone with the joke comparing Biden to antifa for timeliness .
But overall ?
Pretty good ; 8 out of 10 .
But the Cassius Clay of trolls was just warming up .
First he tossed out a token tweet about Floyd ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ normies .
Then he Let .
It .
Rip .
Notice the subtlety of these Trump tweets amidst a nationwide uproar over racist violence spurred by an innocent man being murdered by police officers , while telling them he couldn ’ t breathe .
• The first black president committed the greatest crime in USA history !
• The first black president should be in jail , according to a random tweet from 2019 that Trump unearthed • Wearing masks during a pandemic is similar to SLAVERY .
( Just one man ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ another random tweet , this one from 2016 , where a black woman says she won ’ t be a SLAVE to Democrats .
This is next level stuff .
Only the groypers and guys with Pepe the Frog avatars could detect the subtle white power vibe he ’ s got going on .
As the protests began to escalate , it was time to activate the attorney general .
No , not to address the growing violence or to commit to address the police misconduct .
That would be too pat .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ guns to go after TWITTER DOT COM for bIaS .
As tough as Barr is , Trump recognized that an executive order giving his fella power wasn ’ t enough .
The first extremely online president knew the most extremely online way to draw attention to his strongman crackdown on the social media companies .
He pulled out the trusty iPhone and began issuing a series of violent and racist threats against the protestors , baiting the big social media companies and the pliant media into a debate over whether his wheels-off threats @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the violence and economic decline .
“ THUGS , ” he tweeted .
After 8 years of Mom Jeans Obama , we finally have a president with the courage to say the three words : Radical Antifa Thugs !
And Trump was just getting going .
Late into the night , as the protests raged around the country , Trump dropped the Twitter a-bomb .
“ LOOTING LEADS TO SHOOTING ” he rhymed , invoking the segregationist George Wallace and a racist Miami police chief .
The cucked bipartisan globalist presidents of the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ) might ’ ve called for peaceful resolution or quoted Martin Luther King Jr. or tried to bring people together to pray .
Not Trump .
He ’ s shoving George Wallace down your throat and you are going to like it .
The next morning , Mr. Trump called a press conference .
Our virtue signaling media overlords wanted him to take this moment to turn down the temperature , give an olive branch to the protesters .
That ’ s not my president .
Instead he tweeted in all caps—CHINA—and went @ @ @ @ @ @ @ deliver an anti-China screed , after which he refused to take any questions , and strutted back into the White House .
Like a boss .
While everyone else hyperventilates , Trump has his eye on the Wuhan ball .
After that press conference , and a trip to see the new nerd rocket , the president executed a move that no other president else in American history—not even Jimmy Carter—would have been able to pull off .
Yes .
For two days the president of the United States bunkered down in the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , turned on “ the shows , ” and complained about what he saw .
Reopening the economy task force ?
Who needs it .
Listening session with the protesters ?
Hell no .
There was television to be watched and media to be tweeted at .
Neither riots , nor pandemic , nor economic destruction , nor sleet , nor hail will prevent this president from shitposting the FAKE NEWS .
Trump took but one break from this task : pausing the DVR during Sunday ’ s Fox Media Buzz program to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ANTIFA Thugs were now officially designated as Radical ANTIFA Terrorists .
This is the kind of executive leadership Constitutional Conservatives have been demanding for years .
And to be fair , this bold move got at least one House member off his ass to support Our President : Matt Gaetz sent a tweet expressing his hope that the president ’ s announcement meant that the government would now be able to “ hunt ” antifa .
It ’ s a classic head-I-win , tails-you-lose Trumpian jujitsu .
Either ( a ) we get @ @ @ @ @ @ @ like we ’ ve been itching to do for a while now , or , ( b ) even if the “ laws ” keep us from huntin ’ , we ’ ve finally got us a president who encourages frat boys to engage in some vigilante cosplay .
Either way , this order is certain to be an important step in containing the violence America is seeing , once it gets a chance to ramp up .
After that , Trump put his feet up and went back to the tube .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ sesh , the president got around to calling George Floyd ’ s family .
He was annoyed that Biden was getting credit for being “ gracious ” —you people and your fucking norms—for calling the family .
So he one upped Kneelin ’ Joe .
When Trump called the Floyd family , he talked over them anytime they tried to get a word in edgewise .
Which brought Trump to his grand finale .
For years we ’ ve had godless heathen presidents who forbid Americans from saying “ Merry Christmas , ” @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ s hand guide them , and hadn ’ t even met one Corinthian .
Those presidents would see a crisis like this and cite some scripture , or reference George Floyd ’ s faith , or nod to the cucked-up gospel of nonviolence .
But Mr. Trump understands how weak that is .
It ’ s like these people have never even heard of the Golden Rule .
( It ’ s “ an eye for an eye.
” Look it up . )
And so , after getting great counsel from @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Gala attendees Hope , Ivanka , and Jared , Trump hatched His plan .
Like a golden calf atop Mt .
Sinai , President Trump would signal his deep , abiding faith with a Gold Lamé made-for-TV image of his own .
But in order to do it , he would need to emerge like Lazarus from his panic room and walk to St. John ’ s church , the site of the disgraceful looting and violence that he had power-tweeted through the night before .
Between him and the church were hippies @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Rider Teddy Roosevelt might not have known what to do here .
But with President Trump , it was on like Donkey Kong .
President Trump told security to strap on the riot gear and clear out these Enemies of the People exercising their “ constitutional right ” to “ protest.
” It didn ’ t matter if the hippies were clergywomen at the very church he was going to .
GAS ’ EM .
It didn ’ t matter if they were reporters professionally gathering the news .
RUN ’ EM OVER @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the curfew hadn ’ t started .
RUBBER BULLETS .
And then like any other red-blooded Christian-American , Mr. Trump found a Bible , put it in his daughter ’ s Birkin bag , and walked to the church in the greatest parting of the waters since Moses .
With that on one image , flanked by the Seven Navy Seals and Seven Trumpers with Seven Diadems , Mr. Trump brought the wrath of the Lord down on the haters and the losers .
But of course , some people didn ’ t @ @ @ @ @ @ @ negative .
The establishment neocon senators turned turtle , afraid that there might get some backlash from suburban voter pansies or .
.
.
women .
The reality is these Republican senators are just a bunch of soy bois who don ’ t know squat about dominating the battlespace or how to appreciate a good ol ’ -fashioned gassing .
And so in the greatest trick the president ever pulled , he gave them an out , using vessels like Brit Hume to create an alternate fact—that maybe this was all a big @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to tell themselves that protesters just happened to start attacking cops a few minutes before Mr. Trump walked through .
( lulz ) If those useful idiots need to tell themselves that story in order to sleep at night , fine .
That ’ s the swamp for you .
Trump will give them a cute story to tell .
But for the Real Americans who voted for Trump ?
The Silent Majority ?
This is what we signed up for .
The riots , the gaslighting , the tweets , the divisiveness @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the tough talk , the lib owning , the trolling , the nakedly cynical patriotism and religiosity .
This is it .
This is the good shit .
What ’ s not to like ?

This is not the sort of article you normally see here at The Bulwark, the world’s largest superspreader of Trump Derangement Syndrome.
And to be honest with you, I didn’t want to write it. But somebody had to. Because, my goodness, what a week it has been for Donald J. Trump. I do not say this lightly: This might go down in history as one of the greatest—if not the greatest—demonstration of leadership the world has ever seen.
I had hoped that one of President Trump’s “just calling balls and strikes” defenders in the conservative media would have written this column so I didn’t have to but—and I know this sounds crazy—the cupboard seems to be prettttty bare when it comes to Trump attaboys out there on the internets. I mean, aside from Whiplash Survivor Association of America spokesperson Scott Walker.)
Maybe it’s because the folks in Conservatism Inc. are all just so awed by the president’s performance that they’re struggling to find the right words to describe its magnificence.
I looked around National Review, the Federalist, the Daily Caller, Fox News, and the Daily Wire. Lotta content about how bad the media is. None of the sites are very big fans of antifa. But not many pro-Trump attaboys. Trump couldn’t even get a pat on the back from Tucker Carlson. (Tucker was unhappy with the meager amount of antifa blood on the streets. Just you wait, big guy.)
Where is the commentary in support of President Trump’s red hot tweets? Why is it so hard to find a column praising Trump’s courageous decision to gas clergy members so he could hold a Bible in the air like it was a gross diaper he didn’t want to smell?
Point me to the analysis of his Six Sigma management skills juggling the twin threats of people upset about “police brutality” while also handling the economic and public health crises from the coronavirus that he, like a modern Cassandra, kept warning America about.
If this isn’t the four-dimensional chess Trump’s media cheerleaders are always talking about, then I don’t know what is. I mean, any president could hold an interfaith prayer service or try to “heal America.” It takes a special kind of leader to make sure that the peaceful protesters get roughed up while looters run free and then—just as a lagniappe—start an international incident with Australia.
Much respect.
Podcast · August 15 2023 A.B. Stoddard: All the Ex-President’s Conspirators Donald Trump has been a low-rent mobster for his entire career, and now he’s getting…
I popped up onto the Twitter feeds of some big Trump defenders on the Hill to see if I could find some Real American Patriots over there. No dice.
Lindsey Graham thinks that Mr. Trump did a super nice job condemning China last week. Gym Jordan was happy Our President was taking on the thugs at Twitter. Marco Rubio, John Cornyn, and Ted Cruz are Very Mad about how mean the media is being to the poor fella. Kasie Hunt cornered over a dozen Republicans yesterday and only Steve Daines was willing to give a meek nod towards the president’s leadership.
This baffled me.
So I put out a request for any examples of Trump praise that was out there, and got nothing but a bunch of anti-anti Trump media criticism. What does a president have to do to get some unadulterated love around here?
Why isn’t anyone telling the president that he’s doing a great job with his poopies?
So fine. I guess I’ll have to do it.
Papa Dickie is proud of little Donald.
After all, the president is delivering on everything that he promised!!!
The man is pwning people left and right. He’s instigating the kind of crackdown against minorities not seen in years. He’s making the media and all those Never Trump losers simultaneously sad and angry. We are witnessing the world’s greatest troll at the top of his game.
And that’s what the Forgotten Man has demanded from the start.
Seriously. Just look at what President Trump accomplished in the past week:
As the nation slowly unraveled over the death of George Floyd, the president quit caring about the Invisible Enemy and dedicated himself to taking on the real Enemies of the People: The media. And the Democrats.
Two days after Floyd’s death he fired off a tweet that was trademark Trump, the rascal. Brit Hume mockingly shared a snapshot of Joe Biden wearing a mask to a Memorial Day service and Trump deadpanned “I think he looks better.” BAM. I might’ve gone with the joke comparing Biden to antifa for timeliness. But overall? Pretty good; 8 out of 10.
But the Cassius Clay of trolls was just warming up. First he tossed out a token tweet about Floyd’s death being tragic to appease the normies. Then he Let. It. Rip.
Notice the subtlety of these Trump tweets amidst a nationwide uproar over racist violence spurred by an innocent man being murdered by police officers, while telling them he couldn’t breathe.
The first black president committed the greatest crime in USA history!
The first black president should be in jail, according to a random tweet from 2019 that Trump unearthed.
Wearing masks during a pandemic is similar to SLAVERY. (Just one man’s viewpoint!)
He unearthed another random tweet, this one from 2016, where a black woman says she won’t be a SLAVE to Democrats.
The Michigan governor won’t let people BREATH! [sic]
This is next level stuff. Only the groypers and guys with Pepe the Frog avatars could detect the subtle white power vibe he’s got going on.
As the protests began to escalate, it was time to activate the attorney general. No, not to address the growing violence or to commit to address the police misconduct. That would be too pat. Instead, he called in the big guns to go after TWITTER DOT COM for bIaS.
As tough as Barr is, Trump recognized that an executive order giving his fella power wasn’t enough. The first extremely online president knew the most extremely online way to draw attention to his strongman crackdown on the social media companies. He pulled out the trusty iPhone and began issuing a series of violent and racist threats against the protestors, baiting the big social media companies and the pliant media into a debate over whether his wheels-off threats should be CeNsOrEd, distracting them from the violence and economic decline.
“THUGS,” he tweeted. After 8 years of Mom Jeans Obama, we finally have a president with the courage to say the three words: Radical Antifa Thugs! And Trump was just getting going. Late into the night, as the protests raged around the country, Trump dropped the Twitter a-bomb. “LOOTING LEADS TO SHOOTING” he rhymed, invoking the segregationist George Wallace and a racist Miami police chief.
The cucked bipartisan globalist presidents of the past (meaning: all of them) might’ve called for peaceful resolution or quoted Martin Luther King Jr. or tried to bring people together to pray.
Not Trump. He’s shoving George Wallace down your throat and you are going to like it.
Hell yeah. Where’s my red hat, bitches?
The next morning, Mr. Trump called a press conference. Our virtue signaling media overlords wanted him to take this moment to turn down the temperature, give an olive branch to the protesters. That’s not my president.
Instead he tweeted in all caps—CHINA—and went out to the White House lawn to deliver an anti-China screed, after which he refused to take any questions, and strutted back into the White House. Like a boss. While everyone else hyperventilates, Trump has his eye on the Wuhan ball.
After that press conference, and a trip to see the new nerd rocket, the president executed a move that no other president else in American history—not even Jimmy Carter—would have been able to pull off.
He hid.
Yes. For two days the president of the United States bunkered down in the White House, shut off the lights, turned on “the shows,” and complained about what he saw.
Coronavirus task force? Boring.
Reopening the economy task force? Who needs it.
Listening session with the protesters? Hell no.
There was television to be watched and media to be tweeted at.
Neither riots, nor pandemic, nor economic destruction, nor sleet, nor hail will prevent this president from shitposting the FAKE NEWS.
Trump took but one break from this task: pausing the DVR during Sunday’s Fox Media Buzz program to make an important policy announcement:
Radical ANTIFA Thugs were now officially designated as Radical ANTIFA Terrorists.
Boom. Roasted.
This is the kind of executive leadership Constitutional Conservatives have been demanding for years. And to be fair, this bold move got at least one House member off his ass to support Our President: Matt Gaetz sent a tweet expressing his hope that the president’s announcement meant that the government would now be able to “hunt” antifa.
It’s a classic head-I-win, tails-you-lose Trumpian jujitsu. Either (a) we get to start huntin’ antifa human scum like we’ve been itching to do for a while now, or, (b) even if the “laws” keep us from huntin’, we’ve finally got us a president who encourages frat boys to engage in some vigilante cosplay.
Either way, this order is certain to be an important step in containing the violence America is seeing, once it gets a chance to ramp up.
After that, Trump put his feet up and went back to the tube. And after the next retina-burning cable-news binge sesh, the president got around to calling George Floyd’s family. He was annoyed that Biden was getting credit for being “gracious”—you people and your fucking norms—for calling the family. So he one upped Kneelin’ Joe.
When Trump called the Floyd family, he talked over them anytime they tried to get a word in edgewise.
Power move. So alpha.
Which brought Trump to his grand finale.
For years we’ve had godless heathen presidents who forbid Americans from saying “Merry Christmas,” who didn’t let the Lord’s hand guide them, and hadn’t even met one Corinthian. Those presidents would see a crisis like this and cite some scripture, or reference George Floyd’s faith, or nod to the cucked-up gospel of nonviolence.
But Mr. Trump understands how weak that is. It’s like these people have never even heard of the Golden Rule. (It’s “an eye for an eye.” Look it up.)
And so, after getting great counsel from his red-state evangelical whisperers slash former Met Gala attendees Hope, Ivanka, and Jared, Trump hatched His plan. Like a golden calf atop Mt. Sinai, President Trump would signal his deep, abiding faith with a Gold Lamé made-for-TV image of his own.
But in order to do it, he would need to emerge like Lazarus from his panic room and walk to St. John’s church, the site of the disgraceful looting and violence that he had power-tweeted through the night before.
The only problem?
Between him and the church were hippies. And the media.
The Rough Rider Teddy Roosevelt might not have known what to do here. But with President Trump, it was on like Donkey Kong.
President Trump told security to strap on the riot gear and clear out these Enemies of the People exercising their “constitutional right” to “protest.”
It didn’t matter if the hippies were clergywomen at the very church he was going to. GAS ’EM.
It didn’t matter if they were reporters professionally gathering the news. RUN ’EM OVER.
It didn’t matter if the curfew hadn’t started. RUBBER BULLETS.
And then like any other red-blooded Christian-American, Mr. Trump found a Bible, put it in his daughter’s Birkin bag, and walked to the church in the greatest parting of the waters since Moses.
With that on one image, flanked by the Seven Navy Seals and Seven Trumpers with Seven Diadems, Mr. Trump brought the wrath of the Lord down on the haters and the losers.
He has Risen!
But of course, some people didn’t get it. They focused on the negative. The establishment neocon senators turned turtle, afraid that there might get some backlash from suburban voter pansies or . . . women. The reality is these Republican senators are just a bunch of soy bois who don’t know squat about dominating the battlespace or how to appreciate a good ol’-fashioned gassing.
And so in the greatest trick the president ever pulled, he gave them an out, using vessels like Brit Hume to create an alternate fact—that maybe this was all a big coincidence. This allowed the soft Trumpers to tell themselves that protesters just happened to start attacking cops a few minutes before Mr. Trump walked through. (lulz)
If those useful idiots need to tell themselves that story in order to sleep at night, fine. That’s the swamp for you. Trump will give them a cute story to tell.
But for the Real Americans who voted for Trump? The Silent Majority? This is what we signed up for.
The riots, the gaslighting, the tweets, the divisiveness, the blaming, the bravado, the tough talk, the lib owning, the trolling, the nakedly cynical patriotism and religiosity.
This is it. This is the good shit.
What’s not to like?


thebulwark--2020-06-03--We Are the World

We Are the World

Last Monday , President Trump threatened to permanently halt funding to the World Health Organization if the organization did not address its “ repeated missteps ” in the management of the COVID-19 pandemic within 30 days .
One day later , the organization ’ s other member nations rallied to support the WHO .
The United States was left alone in its dissent .
By Friday , the president made good on his threat and announced that he would withdraw the United States , without even allowing a response from the WHO .
The WHO is not above reproach and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the coronavirus crisis .
But now is not the time for the United States to isolate itself from the rest of the medical world .
Because even as new cases and deaths have begun trending downward in the United States , rates are starting to spike in other countries—especially for our neighbors to the south .
Of the top eight countries where rates of new COVID cases are increasing the fastest , three—Brazil , Peru , and Chile—are in South America .
If we hope to contain the pandemic , both globally and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ so without helping and coordinating with these nations .
President Trump has claimed the United States is the “ world leader ” in coronavirus response ; but for this to be true , we must lead international containment efforts , rather than disengage from them .
The novel coronavirus arrived late to South America .
The continent ’ s first case wasn ’ t until February 26 , at which point the United States already had over 80,000 cases and 4,000 deaths .
However , South America is rapidly becoming the new epicenter @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 526,447 diagnosed cases , second only to the United States .
Peru isn ’ t far behind .
Even after two months of strict lockdown , over 4,500 new cases are being recorded per day , catapulting Peru to the second-highest number of total cases in South America .
Other South American countries are also seeing upticks : Chile is at 105,158 cases , up from 17,008 at the beginning of May .
Cases in South America are now doubling every two weeks , and experts believe that the worst of the pandemic @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
This has the potential to be disastrous for the region , in which 10.2 percent of the population already lives in extreme poverty and as many as 35 million more could become impoverished as a result of the pandemic .
President Sebastián Piñera of Chile has advised that the next few weeks will bring “ the most difficult times and the greatest health challenges in decades.
” The pandemic is already taking its toll on the region .
In recent weeks , the business capital of Ecuador , Quayaquil , had so @ @ @ @ @ @ @ bodies were left to pile on the street .
The outbreak there is thought to have been seeded by Ecuadorians who visited Spain .
This illustrates a critical factor in the rapid international spread of COVID : However much nationalists might dislike it , people travel , and many people have family and economic ties worldwide .
This is especially true in America .
Despite an increasing isolationism in our foreign policy , American prosperity and wellbeing is dependent on what happens abroad .
Therefore , the fate of our southern neighbors will @ @ @ @ @ @ @ States .
President Trump has largely ignored the virus ’ s progress in South America .
Since February , the Trump administration has run 238 ICE deportation flights to South American countries , exporting at least two dozen COVID-positive cases to Colombia , as well as additional infected migrants to Mexico , Guatemala , and Haiti .
In late April , Trump announced that he would send ventilators only to South American countries that he perceived to be more cooperative on immigration .
On May 1 , the State Department argued that America @ @ @ @ @ @ @ aid to the entire region was emblematic of Trump “ continuing to lead the response to COVID-19.
” There might be arguments for cutting funding for and America ’ s involvement in the WHO at some later date .
Doing so in the middle of a crisis can only ultimately hurt—both the rest of the world and America .
In his letter to WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus , President Trump lodged various complaints against China and the WHO itself .
Yet it will be countries who need aid the most , such @ @ @ @ @ @ @ be most hurt if the United States withdraws its support .
The WHO ’ s COVID-19 Solidarity Response Fund has already shipped personal protective equipment to 135 countries and supplied 1.5 million diagnostic kits , with 30 million more on the way .
The organization is also coordinating over 100 countries to work together to find effective vaccines and treatments .
These responses have not been flawless , but at the present moment they are essential to countries whose health systems may not be strong enough to address the pandemic alone .
Without @ @ @ @ @ @ @ will not be limited to South America .
The world is too interconnected .
Just two weeks ago , for instance , two Southern California hospitals were forced to stop admitting new coronavirus patients after admitting nearly 100 U.S. citizens who live across the border in Mexico but were unable to get care from the overwhelmed hospitals there .
President Trump ’ s actions are also incongruous with public sentiment .
A recent poll of U.S. voters found that 72 percent support the allocation of anywhere from $ 10 billion to $ 15 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ emergency relief package , with 96 percent saying they think it is important for the United States to work with other countries to fight diseases that could spread globally .
Voters also understand that America may be vulnerable to second waves if we do not contain outbreaks abroad .
Over three-quarters of voters say that as long as COVID-19 is spreading anywhere in the world , Americans will not be safe from new outbreaks .
They ’ re correct .
The daily number of new COVID-19 cases in the United States may be @ @ @ @ @ @ @ our doors and hope that through isolation we will make it through to the other side .
That is not a realistic position .
The coronavirus is a global pandemic ; it requires a global response .
When we send medical equipment and PPE , it should be done considering nothing other than the country ’ s medical needs , because infections anywhere can lead to infections here .
If we have to limit travel from countries , it should be from countries with high case rates , not just those who have @ @ @ @ @ @ @ we are predicting spillover cases from other countries , and a potential second wave , we should continue funding the WHO , at least for the duration of the crisis .
Cutting off U.S. funding in the middle of the pandemic will not lead to the necessary reforms—and may even harm containment efforts in countries that need aid .
Now is not the time for a rapid retreat ; the United States should re-engage with the world and live up to its promise as a leader during this pandemic .
Lives—and our prosperity—hang @ @ @ @

Emily Gudbranson, Howard Forman Alice Chen Howard Forman, and Alice Chen

Last Monday, President Trump threatened to permanently halt funding to the World Health Organization if the organization did not address its “repeated missteps” in the management of the COVID-19 pandemic within 30 days. One day later, the organization’s other member nations rallied to support the WHO. The United States was left alone in its dissent. By Friday, the president made good on his threat and announced that he would withdraw the United States, without even allowing a response from the WHO.
The WHO is not above reproach and has not been a perfect manager of the coronavirus crisis. But now is not the time for the United States to isolate itself from the rest of the medical world. Because even as new cases and deaths have begun trending downward in the United States, rates are starting to spike in other countries—especially for our neighbors to the south.
Of the top eight countries where rates of new COVID cases are increasing the fastest, three—Brazil, Peru, and Chile—are in South America. If we hope to contain the pandemic, both globally and at home, we cannot do so without helping and coordinating with these nations. President Trump has claimed the United States is the “world leader” in coronavirus response; but for this to be true, we must lead international containment efforts, rather than disengage from them.
Podcast · August 15 2023 A.B. Stoddard: All the Ex-President’s Conspirators Donald Trump has been a low-rent mobster for his entire career, and now he’s getting…
The novel coronavirus arrived late to South America. The continent’s first case wasn’t until February 26, at which point the United States already had over 80,000 cases and 4,000 deaths. However, South America is rapidly becoming the new epicenter of the pandemic.
Brazil currently has 526,447 diagnosed cases, second only to the United States. Peru isn’t far behind. Even after two months of strict lockdown, over 4,500 new cases are being recorded per day, catapulting Peru to the second-highest number of total cases in South America. Other South American countries are also seeing upticks: Chile is at 105,158 cases, up from 17,008 at the beginning of May.
Cases in South America are now doubling every two weeks, and experts believe that the worst of the pandemic in these countries is yet to come. This has the potential to be disastrous for the region, in which 10.2 percent of the population already lives in extreme poverty and as many as 35 million more could become impoverished as a result of the pandemic. President Sebastián Piñera of Chile has advised that the next few weeks will bring “the most difficult times and the greatest health challenges in decades.”
The pandemic is already taking its toll on the region. In recent weeks, the business capital of Ecuador, Quayaquil, had so many deaths that hospitals became overwhelmed and bodies were left to pile on the street.
The outbreak there is thought to have been seeded by Ecuadorians who visited Spain. This illustrates a critical factor in the rapid international spread of COVID: However much nationalists might dislike it, people travel, and many people have family and economic ties worldwide. This is especially true in America. Despite an increasing isolationism in our foreign policy, American prosperity and wellbeing is dependent on what happens abroad. Therefore, the fate of our southern neighbors will ultimately have an effect on the United States.
President Trump has largely ignored the virus’s progress in South America. Since February, the Trump administration has run 238 ICE deportation flights to South American countries, exporting at least two dozen COVID-positive cases to Colombia, as well as additional infected migrants to Mexico, Guatemala, and Haiti. In late April, Trump announced that he would send ventilators only to South American countries that he perceived to be more cooperative on immigration. On May 1, the State Department argued that America’s minuscule $73 million in aid to the entire region was emblematic of Trump “continuing to lead the response to COVID-19.”
There might be arguments for cutting funding for and America’s involvement in the WHO at some later date. Doing so in the middle of a crisis can only ultimately hurt—both the rest of the world and America.
In his letter to WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, President Trump lodged various complaints against China and the WHO itself. Yet it will be countries who need aid the most, such as Brazil and Peru, that will be most hurt if the United States withdraws its support. The WHO’s COVID-19 Solidarity Response Fund has already shipped personal protective equipment to 135 countries and supplied 1.5 million diagnostic kits, with 30 million more on the way. The organization is also coordinating over 100 countries to work together to find effective vaccines and treatments.
These responses have not been flawless, but at the present moment they are essential to countries whose health systems may not be strong enough to address the pandemic alone.
Without external assistance, the fallout from COVID-19 will not be limited to South America. The world is too interconnected. Just two weeks ago, for instance, two Southern California hospitals were forced to stop admitting new coronavirus patients after admitting nearly 100 U.S. citizens who live across the border in Mexico but were unable to get care from the overwhelmed hospitals there.
President Trump’s actions are also incongruous with public sentiment. A recent poll of U.S. voters found that 72 percent support the allocation of anywhere from $10 billion to $15 billion for international assistance in the next emergency relief package, with 96 percent saying they think it is important for the United States to work with other countries to fight diseases that could spread globally. Voters also understand that America may be vulnerable to second waves if we do not contain outbreaks abroad. Over three-quarters of voters say that as long as COVID-19 is spreading anywhere in the world, Americans will not be safe from new outbreaks. They’re correct.
The daily number of new COVID-19 cases in the United States may be dropping, but we cannot shut our doors and hope that through isolation we will make it through to the other side. That is not a realistic position. The coronavirus is a global pandemic; it requires a global response.
When we send medical equipment and PPE, it should be done considering nothing other than the country’s medical needs, because infections anywhere can lead to infections here. If we have to limit travel from countries, it should be from countries with high case rates, not just those who have fallen into political disfavor. And if we are predicting spillover cases from other countries, and a potential second wave, we should continue funding the WHO, at least for the duration of the crisis. Cutting off U.S. funding in the middle of the pandemic will not lead to the necessary reforms—and may even harm containment efforts in countries that need aid.
Now is not the time for a rapid retreat; the United States should re-engage with the world and live up to its promise as a leader during this pandemic. Lives—and our prosperity—hang in the balance.


thebulwark--2020-06-03--Curfews Don’t Protect People

Curfews Don’t Protect People

Yesterday afternoon , President George W. Bush and Laura Bush released an extraordinary statement on the death of George Floyd .
It says what needs to be said by every American across the political spectrum : “ It remains a shocking failure that many African Americans , especially young African American men , are harassed and threatened in their own country.
” This is in the grand tradition of Republican support for civil rights and the classic tenets of liberalism .
It reminds me why I voted for W. twice and used to be a registered Republican .
But that @ @ @ @ @ @ @ stood for limited government , strict adherence to the Constitution , and using economic freedom to improve everyone ’ s lives , not for shredding the Constitution and pitting Americans against each other while using public positions for private profit .
So last night I sat in my house in New York ’ s West Village , listening to helicopters overhead , forbidden to walk outside because we have an 8 p.m. curfew until Sunday .
Because of the curfew local food shops , supermarkets , and restaurants offering takeout had to close @ @ @ @ @ @ @ when they were just beginning to revive .
I ’ ve been thinking a lot about my 10 years covering counterinsurgency in Afghanistan , not only because of the familiar helicopter noise .
There are analogies to restoring order in a violence-afflicted urban environment .
It ’ s often just called community policing , an old idea involving getting cops out of their cars and having them walk their beats and get to know people .
It works .
But instead of reaching out , the NYPD is retreating .
Monday morning , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ precinct in the West Village , the Sixth , I was dismayed to see that the street full of police cars was closed by a barrier at both ends .
Not only does this make it more difficult and psychologically uninviting for citizens to enter to report a crime , it gives criminals and law-abiding citizens alike the idea that the police are afraid of them .
And this is in one of Manhattan ’ s richest zip codes .
The NYPD and departments nationwide need to be out there talking to citizens @ @ @ @ @ @ @ So do our mayors .
Yet at a press conference today , Mayor Bill de Blasio was egregiously rude and disrespectful to reporters who asked about some much-photographed instances of looting nearly under the police ’ s eyes .
De Blasio is locked in a struggle with Governor Andrew Cuomo , who has been very critical of the NYPD ’ s failure to rein in looting and advocated bringing in the National Guard .
As de Blasio correctly pointed out , bringing in outsiders who don ’ t know how NYC works could @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Cuomo is right that the NYPD are badly led and badly trained .
If I were an outsider looking in ( as I was in Afghanistan ) , I would call the NYPD an Irish-American militia , not a servant of the public .
Though the force is only 53 percent white , NYPD leadership is still 72 percent non-Hispanic white , and arrogant in the way militia leaders are .
This may be the place to note that police in the United States are not in huge danger from criminals , especially @ @ @ @ @ @ @ severe penalties for unlicensed handguns .
No New York City cops were murdered in the line of duty in 2019 , for instance .
And across the United States , only 38 law-enforcement officers were shot and killed in the line of duty between January and mid-December 2019 ( not counting deaths by friendly fire ) .
Overall , just over a thousand American civilians were killed by the police in 2019 .
And , totaling data from 2013 to 2019 , NYC has had the lowest rate of police killings of civilians @ @ @ @ @ @ @ people .
As these figures suggest , American police should not be afraid to engage with the community .
I remember the remark of a bright young American captain I met in Afghanistan , Derrick Hernandez , who said to me , “ If you tell me to defend this district center I ’ m not going to sit inside it.
” It ’ s very easy for a fortress to become a self-licking ice cream cone—Army lingo for an outpost that exists only to defend itself , not to make the surrounding @ @ @ @ @ @ @ NYC precinct house .
Curfews are very dumb .
You can ’ t draw a line in the sand unless you ’ re prepared to defend it .
If people break curfew , the government looks weak .
Such rules breed contempt , not respect , for the law .
Americans don ’ t like being told what to do , where to go , and what time to go there .
And order isn ’ t maintained by curfews that are unenforceable—or unfairly enforced—in a city of 8 million .
Police Commissioner @ @ @ @ @ @ @ on the Today show .
The NYPD department chief , Terence Monahan—who took a knee with protesters in Washington Square Park early Monday night—also said on Monday that he thought a curfew was unnecessary .
Mayor de Blasio admitted in his press conference this morning that the curfew is unenforceable , more of an excuse for immediate arrest of criminals .
Monahan made much the same point this morning on Today : “ Protesters that were still protesting past 8 peacefully we allowed to continue , but when a group of people who @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , we were able to take care of them very quickly.
” Mayor de Blasio doesn ’ t get it that there is a link between commerce being shut and the streets becoming dangerous , regardless of the George Floyd protests .
Deserted streets are never safe streets .
Taking law-abiding people off the streets leaves more space for criminality ; it means those who remain can do what they want with less fear of censure from their fellow citizens .
And looting leads store owners to board up storefronts , which in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ further eroding security .
What makes a city safe ?
Commerce and the resultant foot traffic by law-abiding citizens .
Last night , the NYPD managed to protect Soho ’ s stores from a repetition of earlier looting—by the simple expedient of blocking traffic .
This could have been done without a curfew .
It would be far better—and would not escalate tensions , and would invite far less risk of uneven discriminatory enforcement—if the streets were kept open , stores were allowed to stay open as they wished , and police stood @ @ @ @ @ @ @ as they arose .

Yesterday afternoon, President George W. Bush and Laura Bush released an extraordinary statement on the death of George Floyd. It says what needs to be said by every American across the political spectrum: “It remains a shocking failure that many African Americans, especially young African American men, are harassed and threatened in their own country.”
This is in the grand tradition of Republican support for civil rights and the classic tenets of liberalism. It reminds me why I voted for W. twice and used to be a registered Republican.
But that was back in the day when Republicans stood for limited government, strict adherence to the Constitution, and using economic freedom to improve everyone’s lives, not for shredding the Constitution and pitting Americans against each other while using public positions for private profit.
So last night I sat in my house in New York’s West Village, listening to helicopters overhead, forbidden to walk outside because we have an 8 p.m. curfew until Sunday. Because of the curfew local food shops, supermarkets, and restaurants offering takeout had to close as early as 5:00 p.m.—at a moment when they were just beginning to revive.
I’ve been thinking a lot about my 10 years covering counterinsurgency in Afghanistan, not only because of the familiar helicopter noise. There are analogies to restoring order in a violence-afflicted urban environment. It’s often just called community policing, an old idea involving getting cops out of their cars and having them walk their beats and get to know people. It works.
But instead of reaching out, the NYPD is retreating.
Monday morning, when I walked past my local police precinct in the West Village, the Sixth, I was dismayed to see that the street full of police cars was closed by a barrier at both ends. Not only does this make it more difficult and psychologically uninviting for citizens to enter to report a crime, it gives criminals and law-abiding citizens alike the idea that the police are afraid of them. And this is in one of Manhattan’s richest zip codes.
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The NYPD and departments nationwide need to be out there talking to citizens, rebuilding trust and discussing grievances. So do our mayors. Yet at a press conference today, Mayor Bill de Blasio was egregiously rude and disrespectful to reporters who asked about some much-photographed instances of looting nearly under the police’s eyes. De Blasio is locked in a struggle with Governor Andrew Cuomo, who has been very critical of the NYPD’s failure to rein in looting and advocated bringing in the National Guard.
As de Blasio correctly pointed out, bringing in outsiders who don’t know how NYC works could well lead to more violence.
But Cuomo is right that the NYPD are badly led and badly trained. If I were an outsider looking in (as I was in Afghanistan), I would call the NYPD an Irish-American militia, not a servant of the public. Though the force is only 53 percent white, NYPD leadership is still 72 percent non-Hispanic white, and arrogant in the way militia leaders are.
This may be the place to note that police in the United States are not in huge danger from criminals, especially in New York City where there are severe penalties for unlicensed handguns. No New York City cops were murdered in the line of duty in 2019, for instance. And across the United States, only 38 law-enforcement officers were shot and killed in the line of duty between January and mid-December 2019 (not counting deaths by friendly fire).
Overall, just over a thousand American civilians were killed by the police in 2019. And, totaling data from 2013 to 2019, NYC has had the lowest rate of police killings of civilians among U.S. cities with over a million people.
As these figures suggest, American police should not be afraid to engage with the community. I remember the remark of a bright young American captain I met in Afghanistan, Derrick Hernandez, who said to me, “If you tell me to defend this district center I’m not going to sit inside it.” It’s very easy for a fortress to become a self-licking ice cream cone—Army lingo for an outpost that exists only to defend itself, not to make the surrounding territory safer. Sure sounds like an NYC precinct house.
Curfews are very dumb. You can’t draw a line in the sand unless you’re prepared to defend it. If people break curfew, the government looks weak. Such rules breed contempt, not respect, for the law. Americans don’t like being told what to do, where to go, and what time to go there.
And order isn’t maintained by curfews that are unenforceable—or unfairly enforced—in a city of 8 million. Police Commissioner Dermot Shea opposed a curfew on Monday on the Today show. The NYPD department chief, Terence Monahan—who took a knee with protesters in Washington Square Park early Monday night—also said on Monday that he thought a curfew was unnecessary. Mayor de Blasio admitted in his press conference this morning that the curfew is unenforceable, more of an excuse for immediate arrest of criminals. Monahan made much the same point this morning on Today: “Protesters that were still protesting past 8 peacefully we allowed to continue, but when a group of people who were looking to cause mayhem broke off, we were able to take care of them very quickly.”
Mayor de Blasio doesn’t get it that there is a link between commerce being shut and the streets becoming dangerous, regardless of the George Floyd protests. Deserted streets are never safe streets. Taking law-abiding people off the streets leaves more space for criminality; it means those who remain can do what they want with less fear of censure from their fellow citizens. And looting leads store owners to board up storefronts, which in turn suggests that anything is possible, further eroding security.
What makes a city safe? Commerce and the resultant foot traffic by law-abiding citizens.
Last night, the NYPD managed to protect Soho’s stores from a repetition of earlier looting—by the simple expedient of blocking traffic. This could have been done without a curfew. It would be far better—and would not escalate tensions, and would invite far less risk of uneven discriminatory enforcement—if the streets were kept open, stores were allowed to stay open as they wished, and police stood at the ready to deal with problems as they arose.