motherjones--2020-11-02--We Asked Finance Experts to Explain Trump’s Odd Business Methods in Scotland. They Were Mystified.

The New York Times series based on Donald Trump ’ s tax returns has revealed a lot about the president ’ s finances , but so far it has yet to illuminate one of the biggest mysteries of Trump ’ s business empire : his Scottish golf courses .
The clubs—one at Turnberry , located outside Glasgow , and one in Aberdeenshire , situated on a remote stretch of coastline along the North Sea—have been a main focus of the Trump Organization over the past decade .
Trump has poured more money into these properties than any other part of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ever turned a profit .
In fact , together they have lost as much as $ 6.2 million annually over the past 14 years .
Trump has other failed investments , but he rarely sticks with a losing venture for so long .
That ’ s not the only strange thing .
Instead of putting money into the business , in exchange for equity , the way an investment usually works , Trump has been lending himself the cash needed to develop the properties and keep them afloat .
And he has dramatically @ @ @ @ @ @ @ typical braggadocios way , but in detailed corporate filings made annually in the UK .
To be sure , Trump is known for employing aggressive tax avoidance strategies .
In October 2018 , the New York Times reported that he and his siblings had engaged in tax fraud in connection with their father ’ s estate .
But tax and financial experts Mother Jones consulted about his Scottish ventures were puzzled by his business methods , which they said did not have obvious tax or financial advantages .
Perhaps , they said , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
However , some critics have speculated about a more nefarious explanation for Trump ’ s anomalous business dealings related to the Scottish golf courses : money laundering .
To that end , members of Scottish parliament have been pushing to probe Trump ’ s golf clubs using a statute typically aimed at kleptocrats .
From the beginning , Trump ’ s Scottish ventures were a departure from his usual M.O .
He has traditionally financed his development projects with borrowed money—that ’ s why he has often referred to himself as “ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in 2006 , when he began developing his Aberdeenshire property , he deviated from that practice .
He financed his Scottish courses out of his own pocket , pouring , by his own estimate , more than $ 200 million into the clubs .
These expenditures came during a nine-year cash spending spree during which Trump dropped some $ 400 million on various properties in the United States , Scotland , and Ireland .
Moreover , the way he has funneled money into the Scottish courses is downright bizarre .
Every dime that @ @ @ @ @ @ @ been lent to the Scottish companies he owns that control the golf courses , by Trump himself or one of his New York-based LLCs .
Tax experts say it ’ s not unusual for different parts of a business based in different countries to lend to each other .
Doing so can create tax advantages since the borrower may be able to write off the interest payments .
Yet Trump ’ s loans ( from himself and his LLCs to his Scottish companies ) carry no interest and have no due dates , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ “ I don ’ t see the tax angle to doing that , ” says Daniel Shaviro , a professor of tax law at New York University ’ s law school .
“ There is a stupidity angle , perhaps , which would fit what we know about him as a businessman more generally.
” Shaviro and several other tax experts speculated that Trump may be attempting to take advantage of a variety of other , more obscure tax-avoidance tactics , but they pointed out that these strategies were , for the most @ @ @ @ @ @ @ not outright illegal .
The Trump Organization did not respond to requests for comment .
The experts Mother Jones spoke to were also puzzled by the values Trump has assigned to his Scottish properties .
For instance , according to Trump ’ s most recent corporate filings , he values his Aberdeenshire course at $ 40.5 million .
That ’ s nearly four times what comparable Scottish clubs are worth .
Carnoustie Golf Links , a historic and top-ranked course that hosted the British open as recently as 2018 , is valued at @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Links , which like Trump ’ s Aberdeenshire property runs along the North Sea and is owned by an American businessman , is valued at $ 10.3 million .
Trump has a habit of over- or undervaluing his assets to suit his objective at the moment—inflating his net worth to obtain financing or deflating property values when seeking lower tax assessments—his former lawyer and fixer Michael Cohen told Congress in 2019 .
Allegations that Trump misrepresented his worth when seeking loans are currently at the center of an investigation into Trump and his @ @ @ @ @ @ @ general , Letitia James .
Documents Cohen provided to Congress show that Trump excluded his Scottish resorts from the forms he submitted to banks asking for loans .
That in itself could be interesting to investigators .
In court filings , James raised questions about a similar Trump action : He omitted financial data regarding his Chicago projects from financial statements he gave to banks .
And she wanted to know why .
The weirdness of the numbers—and the method by which Trump has invested—has raised eyebrows in Scotland .
Earlier this year @ @ @ @ @ @ @ urging their government to pry open Trump ’ s books and use what ’ s known as an Unexplained Wealth Order ( UWO ) .
As the name suggests , it ’ s a UK statute that can be used to compel a politically prominent person to explain how he or she pulled off a financial transaction that appears out of line with what ’ s publicly known about his or her finances .
In 2018 , this law was used to examine how the wife of a jailed ex–Azerbaijani government official had @ @ @ @ @ @ @ spree at Harrods .
Patrick Harvie , a Scottish Member of Parliament and co-leader of the Scottish Green Party , is leading the effort to use a UWO to investigate Trump .
“ This is not someone who inspires confidence in sound finances and sound business , ” he told Mother Jones this summer .
“ The fact that there are many allegations floating around that the US authorities have investigated , whether it ’ s in relation to Russia or his political dealings domestically—you don ’ t have to sniff the air @ @ @ @ @ @ @ something that smells.
” Adam Davidson , who covers business for the New Yorker and who has investigated Trump ’ s finances , has extensively detailed Trump ’ s odd financial maneuvers in Scotland and why he believes they may be evidence of shady activity .
Fueling the suspicions of his critics is the fact that Trump has a history of partnering with people with alleged ties to money laundering .
One example is the Agalarovs , the Azeri-Russian family who Trump teamed up with to produce the Miss World pageant in Moscow @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Moscow tower .
The Senate Intelligence Committee reported this summer that the Agalarovs “ have significant ties to Russian organized crime and have been closely affiliated with individuals involved in murder , prostitution , weapons trafficking , kidnapping , extortion , narcotics trafficking , money laundering and other significant criminal enterprises.
” The committee also noted that Trump ’ s partners in the Trump Soho hotel project had connections to money laundering .
Real estate is a common vehicle for money laundering—anyone can purchase real estate , sellers welcome cash , and it @ @ @ @ @ @ @ property ’ s true owner .
In Scotland , Trump has proposed lavish housing developments at both of his clubs .
Though his proposed development has thus far been blocked at Turnberry , Trump has received approval to move forward with his plans in Aberdeenshire .
Martyn McLaughlin , a reporter with Glasgow ’ s Scotsman newspaper who has doggedly covered Trump ’ s Scottish adventures , says he and many locals wonder who would put down six or seven-figures to buy a home on this stretch of the Scottish coast , known @ @ @ @ @ @ @ “ Quite how they ’ ll have a viable business scheme out of that , I ’ m not sure , ” he told Mother Jones this summer .
“ Who pays hundreds of thousands of pounds for a family villa in the northeast of Scotland that ’ s got the corrosive brand of Trump attached to it ?
” McLaughlin said that at an early open house event for prospective buyers—before the COVID-19 pandemic limited travel—the interested parties seemed mostly foreign .
“ Which raises the question : Who is investing ?
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ s company ?
It ’ s the most explicit opportunity to put money into the Trump Organization in return for property.
” The development the Trump Organization has proposed in Aberdeenshire is expected to cost another $ 200 million , and it ’ s unclear where Trump will come up with the cash for this .
The pandemic has slammed his hospitality empire , especially his Scottish courses , which have been largely destinations for American travelers .
Trump ’ s company also faces loans totaling more than $ 400 million that @ @ @ @ @ @ @ over the next few years .
Whether Trump can pull off this next stage of development for his Scottish resorts or the courses sink further into unprofitability , Trump ’ s financial future ( if he stays in office or not ) seems increasingly tied to these properties .
Consequently , it remains notable that so much about his Scottish dealings continue to be unexplained and puzzling .

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The New York Times series based on Donald Trump’s tax returns has revealed a lot about the president’s finances, but so far it has yet to illuminate one of the biggest mysteries of Trump’s business empire: his Scottish golf courses.
The clubs—one at Turnberry, located outside Glasgow, and one in Aberdeenshire, situated on a remote stretch of coastline along the North Sea—have been a main focus of the Trump Organization over the past decade. Trump has poured more money into these properties than any other part of his business. Yet neither club has ever turned a profit. In fact, together they have lost as much as $6.2 million annually over the past 14 years. Trump has other failed investments, but he rarely sticks with a losing venture for so long.
That’s not the only strange thing. Instead of putting money into the business, in exchange for equity, the way an investment usually works, Trump has been lending himself the cash needed to develop the properties and keep them afloat. And he has dramatically overvalued the courses—and not just in his typical braggadocios way, but in detailed corporate filings made annually in the UK.
To be sure, Trump is known for employing aggressive tax avoidance strategies. In October 2018, the New York Times reported that he and his siblings had engaged in tax fraud in connection with their father’s estate. But tax and financial experts Mother Jones consulted about his Scottish ventures were puzzled by his business methods, which they said did not have obvious tax or financial advantages. Perhaps, they said, Trump is just bad at doing business.
However, some critics have speculated about a more nefarious explanation for Trump’s anomalous business dealings related to the Scottish golf courses: money laundering. To that end, members of Scottish parliament have been pushing to probe Trump’s golf clubs using a statute typically aimed at kleptocrats.
From the beginning, Trump’s Scottish ventures were a departure from his usual M.O. He has traditionally financed his development projects with borrowed money—that’s why he has often referred to himself as “the king of debt.” But starting in 2006, when he began developing his Aberdeenshire property, he deviated from that practice. He financed his Scottish courses out of his own pocket, pouring, by his own estimate, more than $200 million into the clubs. These expenditures came during a nine-year cash spending spree during which Trump dropped some $400 million on various properties in the United States, Scotland, and Ireland.
Moreover, the way he has funneled money into the Scottish courses is downright bizarre. Every dime that he has put into the properties has been lent to the Scottish companies he owns that control the golf courses, by Trump himself or one of his New York-based LLCs.
Tax experts say it’s not unusual for different parts of a business based in different countries to lend to each other. Doing so can create tax advantages since the borrower may be able to write off the interest payments. Yet Trump’s loans (from himself and his LLCs to his Scottish companies) carry no interest and have no due dates, negating the most common tax benefit.
“I don’t see the tax angle to doing that,” says Daniel Shaviro, a professor of tax law at New York University’s law school. “There is a stupidity angle, perhaps, which would fit what we know about him as a businessman more generally.”
Shaviro and several other tax experts speculated that Trump may be attempting to take advantage of a variety of other, more obscure tax-avoidance tactics, but they pointed out that these strategies were, for the most part, not legally advisable, if not outright illegal.
The Trump Organization did not respond to requests for comment.
The experts Mother Jones spoke to were also puzzled by the values Trump has assigned to his Scottish properties. For instance, according to Trump’s most recent corporate filings, he values his Aberdeenshire course at $40.5 million. That’s nearly four times what comparable Scottish clubs are worth. Carnoustie Golf Links, a historic and top-ranked course that hosted the British open as recently as 2018, is valued at $10.4 million. Kings Barns Golf Links, which like Trump’s Aberdeenshire property runs along the North Sea and is owned by an American businessman, is valued at $10.3 million.
Trump has a habit of over- or undervaluing his assets to suit his objective at the moment—inflating his net worth to obtain financing or deflating property values when seeking lower tax assessments—his former lawyer and fixer Michael Cohen told Congress in 2019. Allegations that Trump misrepresented his worth when seeking loans are currently at the center of an investigation into Trump and his company by New York’s attorney general, Letitia James. Documents Cohen provided to Congress show that Trump excluded his Scottish resorts from the forms he submitted to banks asking for loans. That in itself could be interesting to investigators. In court filings, James raised questions about a similar Trump action: He omitted financial data regarding his Chicago projects from financial statements he gave to banks. And she wanted to know why.
The weirdness of the numbers—and the method by which Trump has invested—has raised eyebrows in Scotland. Earlier this year, members of the Scottish parliament began urging their government to pry open Trump’s books and use what’s known as an Unexplained Wealth Order (UWO). As the name suggests, it’s a UK statute that can be used to compel a politically prominent person to explain how he or she pulled off a financial transaction that appears out of line with what’s publicly known about his or her finances. In 2018, this law was used to examine how the wife of a jailed ex–Azerbaijani government official had managed to afford a £16 million shopping spree at Harrods.
Patrick Harvie, a Scottish Member of Parliament and co-leader of the Scottish Green Party, is leading the effort to use a UWO to investigate Trump. “This is not someone who inspires confidence in sound finances and sound business,” he told Mother Jones this summer. “The fact that there are many allegations floating around that the US authorities have investigated, whether it’s in relation to Russia or his political dealings domestically—you don’t have to sniff the air very long to see there’s something that smells.”
Adam Davidson, who covers business for the New Yorker and who has investigated Trump’s finances, has extensively detailed Trump’s odd financial maneuvers in Scotland and why he believes they may be evidence of shady activity.
He cannot have spent all that money on the properties. We have the planning docs. We know how much he spent–it's far less than what he claims. The money truly disappears. It goes from one pocket to another pocket and then the pocket is opened to reveal nothing is there. 7/ — Adam Davidson (@adamdavidson) September 29, 2020
Fueling the suspicions of his critics is the fact that Trump has a history of partnering with people with alleged ties to money laundering. One example is the Agalarovs, the Azeri-Russian family who Trump teamed up with to produce the Miss World pageant in Moscow and with whom he explored developing a Moscow tower. The Senate Intelligence Committee reported this summer that the Agalarovs “have significant ties to Russian organized crime and have been closely affiliated with individuals involved in murder, prostitution, weapons trafficking, kidnapping, extortion, narcotics trafficking, money laundering and other significant criminal enterprises.” The committee also noted that Trump’s partners in the Trump Soho hotel project had connections to money laundering.
Real estate is a common vehicle for money laundering—anyone can purchase real estate, sellers welcome cash, and it’s relatively easy to obscure a property’s true owner.
In Scotland, Trump has proposed lavish housing developments at both of his clubs. Though his proposed development has thus far been blocked at Turnberry, Trump has received approval to move forward with his plans in Aberdeenshire. Martyn McLaughlin, a reporter with Glasgow’s Scotsman newspaper who has doggedly covered Trump’s Scottish adventures, says he and many locals wonder who would put down six or seven-figures to buy a home on this stretch of the Scottish coast, known for its booming offshore oil industry.
“Quite how they’ll have a viable business scheme out of that, I’m not sure,” he told Mother Jones this summer. “Who pays hundreds of thousands of pounds for a family villa in the northeast of Scotland that’s got the corrosive brand of Trump attached to it?”
McLaughlin said that at an early open house event for prospective buyers—before the COVID-19 pandemic limited travel—the interested parties seemed mostly foreign. “Which raises the question: Who is investing? Who is giving money to the president’s company? It’s the most explicit opportunity to put money into the Trump Organization in return for property.”
The development the Trump Organization has proposed in Aberdeenshire is expected to cost another $200 million, and it’s unclear where Trump will come up with the cash for this. The pandemic has slammed his hospitality empire, especially his Scottish courses, which have been largely destinations for American travelers. Trump’s company also faces loans totaling more than $400 million that it will either have repay or refinance over the next few years.
Whether Trump can pull off this next stage of development for his Scottish resorts or the courses sink further into unprofitability, Trump’s financial future (if he stays in office or not) seems increasingly tied to these properties. Consequently, it remains notable that so much about his Scottish dealings continue to be unexplained and puzzling.


motherjones--2020-11-02--Trump Loves to Declare Victory Even if He Didn’t Win. Election Night May Be the Same.

According to an Axios report , Donald Trump is planning on declaring a premature victory if it appears that he is ahead before all the ballots are counted .
Because coronavirus concerns curtailed in-person voting , many states , including pivotal ones like Pennsylvania and Wisconsin , are dealing with a deluge of mail-in ballots , presumably from mostly Democratic voters .
Trump has urged his supporters to vote in person to avoid non-existent mail-in voting fraud .
But his campaign strategy seems to be that with many in-person votes cast for him , he will use the opportunity to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ remaining ballots are fraudulent .
But , should Trump jump the gun and announce that he has been reelected for a second term before the final results are tallied , it wouldn ’ t be the first time he falsely declared himself a winner—even though he wasn ’ t .
Immediately after the 2016 election , before he was officially president , Trump claimed a victory that was not his .
Perhaps , the only thing more stunning than Hillary Clinton ’ s defeat was the fact that she actually won the popular @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to the Electoral College system , Clinton became the second Democrat—after Al Gore lost to George W. Bush in 2000—to lose the presidency despite winning more votes—in many ways because the system privileges a minority white party .
Of course , Trump insisted he didn ’ t have fewer votes at all .
Why ?
Because millions of illegal ballots were cast for Clinton .
It may be completely illogical to rig an election for Clinton in which she still loses , but Trump doesn ’ t care about logic .
He cares @ @ @ @ @ @ @ In January 2017 , Trump officially began his presidency with a whopper of a lie that only made headlines both because it was demonstrably false and because it was about something inconsequential .
For weeks , Trump bragged that his Inauguration would have record-setting turnout .
Crowd estimates for the event were between 700,000 to 900,000—compared to Obama ’ s 1.8 million for his 2009 Inauguration .
Side-by-side photos of the two inaugurations easily proved that Trump hadn ’ t shattered any records .
But that didn ’ t stop then-White House Press @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ) from making an angry TV appearance that would set the tone for all Trump officials over the next four years .
“ This was the largest audience to ever witness an inauguration , PERIOD !
” Spicer said forcefully from the White House press briefing room , clearly playing to an audience of one .
“ These attempts to lessen the enthusiasm around the inauguration are shameful and wrong.
” Spicer resigned just six months later , but every Trump official after him would have to show this same kind of deference @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a winner .
Fast forward to the 2018 midterm elections .
Trump ’ s unpopularity had weighed heavily on Republicans in down-ballot races and led to a massive blue wave .
The Democrats retained control of the US House and won decisively in several state races like Nevada and Michigan .
But even so , for the president , the 2018 midterms were a vindication of his successful leadership .
Of course , the most damning false victory he ’ s declared has been the one against the coronavirus .
On election eve @ @ @ @ @ @ @ United States will have died from COVID-19 .
Approximately 9 million people have been infected and cases are surging in dozens of states .
From the beginning , Trump downplayed the threat of the virus and his administration ’ s pandemic response ( or lack thereof ) has been riddled with misinformation and denial .
But the president keeps insisting we ’ re almost out of the woods , victorious over a deadly pandemic .
“ We ’ re rounding the corner , ” he ’ s repeated over and over again since @ @ @ @ @ @ @ vaccine would be ready before the election and when the United States hit 200,000 deaths Trump insisted few were affected by it .
He was hospitalized less than two weeks later .
Then he turned his discharge into yet another personal triumph , claiming he was immune in a video posted to Twitter .
In reality , the United States is headed into the worst phase of the pandemic yet .
Hospitals across the country are overwhelmed with COVID patients , and we continue to shatter records for daily case counts .
It @ @ @ @ @ @ @ victory .
Despite his long track record of claiming victory without any evidence , Trump insisted the reports about his premature declaration of victory are fake .
But he has made it clear that he ’ s planning a bitter fight in the courts to have mail-in ballots in key states discredited , because in his mind , he ’ s already the winner .
“ As soon as that election is over , we ’ re going in with our lawyers , ” he told reporters on Sunday night decrying Supreme Court @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Carolina to continue counting ballots that come in after election day .
“ Because we ’ re doing great in Nevada .
We ’ re doing great in Arizona , we ’ re doing great all over .
”

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According to an Axios report, Donald Trump is planning on declaring a premature victory if it appears that he is ahead before all the ballots are counted. Because coronavirus concerns curtailed in-person voting, many states, including pivotal ones like Pennsylvania and Wisconsin, are dealing with a deluge of mail-in ballots, presumably from mostly Democratic voters. Trump has urged his supporters to vote in person to avoid non-existent mail-in voting fraud. But his campaign strategy seems to be that with many in-person votes cast for him, he will use the opportunity to claim victory early by lying that the remaining ballots are fraudulent. But, should Trump jump the gun and announce that he has been reelected for a second term before the final results are tallied ,it wouldn’t be the first time he falsely declared himself a winner—even though he wasn’t.
Immediately after the 2016 election, before he was officially president, Trump claimed a victory that was not his. Perhaps, the only thing more stunning than Hillary Clinton’s defeat was the fact that she actually won the popular vote by 3 million ballots. Thanks to the Electoral College system, Clinton became the second Democrat—after Al Gore lost to George W. Bush in 2000—to lose the presidency despite winning more votes—in many ways because the system privileges a minority white party. Of course, Trump insisted he didn’t have fewer votes at all. Why? Because millions of illegal ballots were cast for Clinton.
In addition to winning the Electoral College in a landslide, I won the popular vote if you deduct the millions of people who voted illegally — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) November 27, 2016
It may be completely illogical to rig an election for Clinton in which she still loses, but Trump doesn’t care about logic. He cares about being perceived as a loser.
In January 2017, Trump officially began his presidency with a whopper of a lie that only made headlines both because it was demonstrably false and because it was about something inconsequential. For weeks, Trump bragged that his Inauguration would have record-setting turnout. Crowd estimates for the event were between 700,000 to 900,000—compared to Obama’s 1.8 million for his 2009 Inauguration. Side-by-side photos of the two inaugurations easily proved that Trump hadn’t shattered any records. But that didn’t stop then-White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer (remember him?) from making an angry TV appearance that would set the tone for all Trump officials over the next four years.
“This was the largest audience to ever witness an inauguration, PERIOD!” Spicer said forcefully from the White House press briefing room, clearly playing to an audience of one. “These attempts to lessen the enthusiasm around the inauguration are shameful and wrong.” Spicer resigned just six months later, but every Trump official after him would have to show this same kind of deference to a president obsessed with looking like a winner.
Fast forward to the 2018 midterm elections. Trump’s unpopularity had weighed heavily on Republicans in down-ballot races and led to a massive blue wave. The Democrats regained control of the US House and won decisively in several state races like Nevada and Michigan. But even so, for the president, the 2018 midterms were a vindication of his successful leadership.
Tremendous success tonight. Thank you to all! — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) November 7, 2018
Of course, the most damning false victory he’s declared has been the one against the coronavirus. On election eve, more than 230,000 people in the United States will have died from COVID-19. Approximately 9 million people have been infected and cases are surging in dozens of states. From the beginning, Trump downplayed the threat of the virus and his administration’s pandemic response (or lack thereof) has been riddled with misinformation and denial.
But the president keeps insisting we’re almost out of the woods, victorious over a deadly pandemic. “We’re rounding the corner,” he’s repeated over and over again since August. He’s promised a vaccine would be ready before the election and when the United States hit 200,000 deaths Trump insisted few were affected by it. He was hospitalized less than two weeks later. Then he turned his discharge into yet another personal triumph, claiming he was immune in a video posted to Twitter.
“We’re going back to work. We’re going to be out front, As your leader, I had to do that. I knew there’s danger to it, but I had to do it,” he rambled. “I stood out front. I led. Nobody that’s a leader would not do what I did. And I know there’s a risk, there’s a danger, but that’s OK. And now I’m better and maybe I’m immune, I don’t know. But don’t let it dominate your lives.”
Last week, Trump repeated the lie that case numbers are high because of increased testing, and that the US is doing better than Europe.
More Testing equals more Cases. We have best testing. Deaths WAY DOWN. Hospitals have great additional capacity! Doing much better than Europe. Therapeutics working! — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) October 30, 2020
In reality, the United States is headed into the worst phase of the pandemic yet. Hospitals across the country are overwhelmed with COVID patients, and we continue to shatter records for daily case counts. It feels more like a surrender than a victory.
Despite his long track record of claiming victory without any evidence, Trump insisted the reports about his premature declaration of victory are fake. But he has made it clear that he’s planning a bitter fight in the courts to have mail-in ballots in key states discredited, because in his mind, he’s already the winner. “As soon as that election is over, we’re going in with our lawyers,” he told reporters on Sunday night decrying Supreme Court rulings that are allowing Pennsylvania and North Carolina to continue counting ballots that come in after election day. “Because we’re doing great in Nevada. We’re doing great in Arizona, we’re doing great all over.”


motherjones--2020-11-02--Trump’s Former Top Intel Adviser Has Become a Key Source of Disinformation

The primary source of disinformation in the 2020 campaign is not Russia , or any foreign state , but rather President Donald Trump and his administration .
And a key culprit is Trump ’ s former acting director of national intelligence , Richard Grenell .
Grenell—who has also served as Trump ’ s ambassador to Germany and as a special envoy for peace talks between Serbia and Kosovo—on Sunday tweeted a photograph showing Joe Biden maskless on a plane , along with an image of Biden wearing a mask while outdoors .
The tweet suggested that Biden is a “ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ more than a public pose .
But as legal scholar Steve Vladeck and others quickly noted , the photo of Biden without a mask is from November , before the pandemic .
Grenell appears to have taken the picture from a Vogue Magazine article on Biden ’ s traveling press secretary , Remi Yamamoto , while omitting the caption that noted the date .
Confronted with his error , Grenell attacked those who flagged it , then posted another picture of Biden without a mask , this time ignoring the fact that it @ @ @ @ @ @ @ wore a mask prior to taking the stage , where he spoke alone .
This is nothing new for Grenell , a noted Twitter troll .
Last week , Grenell retweeted a false claim by an account with the username “ Heshmat Alavi ” that lobbyists for Iran had “ established ties with the Biden/Harris circle.
” This claim includes multiple layers of falsehoods .
First , according to a report last year by the Intercept , Alavi “ appears not to exist ” but is instead a composite persona created by the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ MEK .
The nominal author was published widely in Forbes and in right-leaning outlets before the deceit was uncovered .
MEK , based in Albania , exercises strict control over adherents that has drawn frequent comparisons to a cult .
The State Department listed the group as sponsor of terrorism following its alleged involvement and in an attack on US soil in 1992 , and in the killing of US citizens in Iran in the 1970s , before removing the group from the list in 2012 .
MEK aggressively lobbies in the US @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Mother Jones has reported that MEK has received vocal support on Twitter from a network of “ likely bots along with real accounts and ‘ cyborg ’ accounts—accounts run by real people , but augmented with software to push posts faster and more frequently.
” It ’ s unclear who is behind these Twitter accounts .
“ Heshmat Alavi is a persona run by a team of people from the political wing of the MEK , ” a high-ranking MEK defector told the Intercept .
“ They write whatever they are directed by @ @ @ @ @ @ @ place articles in the press .
This is not and has never been a real person.
” In a subsequent blog post , a person identifying themself as Alavi acknowledged that is not the name of a real person , but claimed it was a pseudonym intended to protect “ all of my family , friends and myself , both inside & outside of Iran , in complete danger.
” The Alavi tweet that Grenell promoted showed Sen. Kamala Harris ( D-Calif. ) standing near two women , Iranian-American journalist Negar Mortazavi and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the Center for International Policy , a think tank .
It asserts they are former members of the National Iranian American Council ( NIAC ) , which it falsely calls “ Iran ’ s lobby arm in DC.
” In fact , the event pictured was a January 29 , 2017 , protest in Washington of Trump ’ s Muslim ban—an event that Mortazavi and Taeb helped organize .
Harris and Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto ( D-Nev. ) attended to support the protesters but have no other ties to the women , Mortazavi @ @ @ @ @ @ @ diplomacy with Iran , including the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action , or Iran nuclear deal , that was forged under the Obama administration .
Those actions have led the MEK and right-wing advocates of Trump ’ s bellicose “ maximum pressure ” policy to accuse the group of lobbying for Iran .
But there is no evidence for those claims .
The organization denies them and is not a registered foreign agent .
( Americans lobbying for MEK are registered as foreign agents . )
When I pointed out last week that @ @ @ @ @ @ @ composite persona , the former director of national intelligence accused Mother Jones of “ giving aid and comfort ” to Iran ’ s rulers .
Grenell also made several false claims during remarks at the Republican National Convention in August that were aimed at bolstering Trump ’ s false “ ObamaGate ” assertions .
Grenell said that “ the Obama-Biden administration secretly launched a surveillance operation on the Trump campaign , and silenced the many brave intelligence officials who spoke up against it.
” He also claimed that “ Biden asked intelligence officials @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Trump ’ s incoming national security adviser three weeks before the inauguration.
” A Washington Post factcheck faulted Grenell for bolstering “ unfounded conspiracy theories ” in those remarks .
The FBI investigation into links between the Trump campaign and Russian entities was not ordered by former President Barack Obama or by Biden .
The claim about Biden ordering an investigation into former national security adviser Michael Flynn relies on Biden ’ s attendance at a January 2017 White House meeting where Flynn was discussed .
Handwritten notes by a former FBI agent @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Act , a law Flynn could potentially have violated through his secret contacts with Russia ’ s ambassador during the presidential transition .
( Flynn was never charged with breaking this law . )
But officials present have said they do not recall Biden saying anything at the meeting .
And the FBI ’ s investigation into Flynn had started many months before that , rendering it impossible for the then-VP or Obama to have initiated the investigation into Flynn at the meeting .

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The primary source of disinformation in the 2020 campaign is not Russia, or any foreign state, but rather President Donald Trump and his administration. And a key culprit is Trump’s former acting director of national intelligence, Richard Grenell.
Grenell—who has also served as Trump’s ambassador to Germany and as a special envoy for peace talks between Serbia and Kosovo—on Sunday tweeted a photograph showing Joe Biden maskless on a plane, along with an image of Biden wearing a mask while outdoors. The tweet suggested that Biden is a “phony” whose mask use is nothing more than a public pose. But as legal scholar Steve Vladeck and others quickly noted, the photo of Biden without a mask is from November, before the pandemic. Grenell appears to have taken the picture from a Vogue Magazine article on Biden’s traveling press secretary, Remi Yamamoto, while omitting the caption that noted the date.
Dear @RichardGrenell: As anyone can see for themselves, the picture you've posted (nicely edited to crop out the caption and credit) is originally from a November *2019* @voguemagazine story—before anyone was wearing masks:https://t.co/Q8ntbf69qH So who's the phony? https://t.co/dI45IabnxQ — Steve Vladeck (@steve_vladeck) November 2, 2020
Confronted with his error, Grenell attacked those who flagged it, then posted another picture of Biden without a mask, this time ignoring the fact that it came from a drive-in rally where Biden wore a mask prior to taking the stage, where he spoke alone.
This is nothing new for Grenell, a noted Twitter troll. Last week, Grenell retweeted a false claim by an account with the username “Heshmat Alavi” that lobbyists for Iran had “established ties with the Biden/Harris circle.” This claim includes multiple layers of falsehoods. First, according to a report last year by the Intercept, Alavi “appears not to exist” but is instead a composite persona created by the radical Iranian opposition group Mojahedin-e-Khalq, or MEK. The nominal author was published widely in Forbes and in right-leaning outlets before the deceit was uncovered. MEK, based in Albania, exercises strict control over adherents that has drawn frequent comparisons to a cult. The State Department listed the group as sponsor of terrorism following its alleged involvement and in an attack on US soil in 1992, and in the killing of US citizens in Iran in the 1970s, before removing the group from the list in 2012. MEK aggressively lobbies in the US for the overthrow of Iranian regime. Mother Jones has reported that MEK has received vocal support on Twitter from a network of “likely bots along with real accounts and ‘cyborg’ accounts—accounts run by real people, but augmented with software to push posts faster and more frequently.” It’s unclear who is behind these Twitter accounts.
“Heshmat Alavi is a persona run by a team of people from the political wing of the MEK,” a high-ranking MEK defector told the Intercept. “They write whatever they are directed by their commanders and use this name to place articles in the press. This is not and has never been a real person.” In a subsequent blog post, a person identifying themself as Alavi acknowledged that is not the name of a real person, but claimed it was a pseudonym intended to protect “all of my family, friends and myself, both inside & outside of Iran, in complete danger.”
The Alavi tweet that Grenell promoted showed Sen. Kamala Harris (D-Calif.) standing near two women, Iranian-American journalist Negar Mortazavi and Yasmine Taeb, a senior fellow at the Center for International Policy, a think tank. It asserts they are former members of the National Iranian American Council (NIAC), which it falsely calls “Iran’s lobby arm in DC.” In fact, the event pictured was a January 29, 2017, protest in Washington of Trump’s Muslim ban—an event that Mortazavi and Taeb helped organize. Harris and Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto (D-Nev.) attended to support the protesters but have no other ties to the women, Mortazavi told Mother Jones. NIAC has supported diplomacy with Iran, including the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, or Iran nuclear deal, that was forged under the Obama administration. Those actions have led the MEK and right-wing advocates of Trump’s bellicose “maximum pressure” policy to accuse the group of lobbying for Iran. But there is no evidence for those claims. The organization denies them and is not a registered foreign agent. (Americans lobbying for MEK are registered as foreign agents.)
When I pointed out last week that Grenell had amplified false claims by a composite persona, the former director of national intelligence accused Mother Jones of “giving aid and comfort” to Iran’s rulers.
Grenell also made several false claims during remarks at the Republican National Convention in August that were aimed at bolstering Trump’s false “ObamaGate” assertions. Grenell said that “the Obama-Biden administration secretly launched a surveillance operation on the Trump campaign, and silenced the many brave intelligence officials who spoke up against it.” He also claimed that “Biden asked intelligence officials to uncover the hidden information on President Trump’s incoming national security adviser three weeks before the inauguration.”
A Washington Post factcheck faulted Grenell for bolstering “unfounded conspiracy theories” in those remarks. The FBI investigation into links between the Trump campaign and Russian entities was not ordered by former President Barack Obama or by Biden. The claim about Biden ordering an investigation into former national security adviser Michael Flynn relies on Biden’s attendance at a January 2017 White House meeting where Flynn was discussed. Handwritten notes by a former FBI agent suggest Biden may have mentioned the Logan Act, a law Flynn could potentially have violated through his secret contacts with Russia’s ambassador during the presidential transition. (Flynn was never charged with breaking this law.) But officials present have said they do not recall Biden saying anything at the meeting. And the FBI’s investigation into Flynn had started many months before that, rendering it impossible for the then-VP or Obama to have initiated the investigation into Flynn at the meeting.


motherjones--2020-11-02--Anxious? Furious? Hopeful? So Are We.

Anxious? Furious? Hopeful? So Are We.

In the nearly eight months since the pandemic shut down life as we knew it , it ’ s been rare to find glimmers of hope in the media , so I was excited when a magazine I subscribe to included an anecdote in its lead that promised to be “ an act of hope—that life would soon resume.
” That act , it turns out , was the purchase of a $ 28,000 pair of diamond earrings auctioned off by Sotheby ’ s .
While I wouldn ’ t call it hope—I would not be enjoying said diamonds—I was @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the fact that as everything else is in upheaval this year , Town & Country still runs stories headlined “ Bangles in a PANDEMIC ?
The shelter at home shopping network is here , and it ’ s all about jewels—lots of them.
” The magazine has basically been my favorite hate read since a Fourth of July weekend away with friends last year , back when sharing a space with people outside your family was an act we all took for granted .
As I lazily flipped through my host ’ s @ @ @ @ @ @ @ I became instantly sucked into the collection of Town & Country issues , transported to a weird alternative timeline where all of the day ’ s biggest news and scandals were reframed to focus on the true victims : the unfairly demonized rich .
The magazine ’ s story framing was truly flabbergasting : • The opioid epidemic ?
Story headline : “ Hello , My Name Is Sackler : When your husband and his family are accused of making billions off the opioid crisis , do you get to be a rebel @ @ @ @ @ @ @ college bribery scandal ?
Headlined “ Is Your Money Still Good Here : The pay-for-play college scandal threatens to end a time honored system of favor trading.
” • GoFundMe ?
“ Suddenly , scanning your social media feed can feel like a walk down BEGGAR ’ S LANE [ sic ] .
Can you escape with your wallet and relationships intact ?
” • # MeToo ?
Header cartoon of Les Moonves , Michael Cohen , and Charlie Rose at a steakhouse alongside this headline : “ How to navigate eating out—and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ gift guide I was advised to style myself after Kendall Roy , and I read a glossy spread about a Hearst heir getting married at the family castle .
The February issue ’ s jewelry awards opened with a pair of necklaces , one priced $ 461,000 and another at $ 824,00 , while elsewhere in the issue there was a taxonomy of the types of safari goers : the dowager countess , the honeymooners , the “ mommy are we rich ?
” set .
While it was new to me , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ certainly wasn ’ t new .
It ’ s one of the longest-running magazines in the country .
When a new editor took over in 2011 , the New York Times called it “ an institution that has been edited , since its founding in 1846 , for an affluent , ambitious reader eager to master the art of living well.
” Stellene Volandes , the magazine ’ s editor-in-chief since 2016 , has been described on the website as a “ known jewelry expert ” who “ speaks frequently on the topics @ @ @ @ @ @ @ & C covers these travails of the rich isn ’ t trivial : Its print circulation of 425,000 is more than twice ours here at Mother Jones .
Movie stars grace its cover .
Michael Bloomberg and Chelsea Clinton both spoke at its first “ philanthropy summit ” back in 2014 .
Serious , good journalists whose work I enjoy elsewhere , like Taffy Brodesser-Akner and Adam Gopnik , contribute to the magazine .
( I have to imagine their per-word rate is great , and so hopefully the executives at Hearst ignore @ @ @ @ @ @ @ . )
Much of each issue doesn ’ t read all that different than any other glossy magazine that peddles a vision of high-class life ( GQ ’ s list of the best leather jackets starts with one costing nearly $ 7,000 ) , but there are about two to five stories in each issue that stop me cold , awed at the way parts of the world have been reframed to best pamper the cloistered elite .
But from the outset of the pandemic , it was clear that the rich were @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the magazine .
It was , like the people it covers , mostly operating in an alternate universe ( one in which the net worth of billionaires soared while more than 22 million jobs were lost ) .
And what I once found amusing , even charming-yet-cringe-inducing , now felt gross .
One week early in the pandemic , as the rich fled to their luxurious vacation homes , imprisoned the help , and sang off-key covers in misguided attempts to calm the normals , I checked T & C ’ s website @ @ @ @ @ @ @ scrolling to find the first COVID reference , which came in a bloc on the homepage for “ All the Latest Royal News.
” Those stories were mostly about how various members of the royal family—even as distant as Prince George ’ s godfather—donated to various relief efforts .
There was an entry titled “ Queen Elizabeth Will Not Have a Gun Salute on Her Birthday for the First Time in Her Reign.
” The tragedy .
Like many print publications—us included—T & C ’ s shipping schedule precluded it from focusing on @ @ @ @ @ @ @ after lockdown .
Instead : a guide to improved face lift procedures , with doctor recommendations in NYC , Chicago , LA , and SF , and a story about how just no one wants to retire anymore , pointing , of course , to exceedingly rich retirees ( written by Joel Stein , whose latest book is entitled In Defense of Elitism ) .
The only overt mention of the coronavirus came in the opening Editor ’ s Letter , wherein Volandes notes the issue was started in their offices and wrapped @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
It included a staff list of favorite comforts , mostly surprisingly down-to-earth suggestions of alcohol , sugar , and exercise ( and one truly shocking shoutout to Jenny Odell ’ s excellent anti-capitalism manifesto How to Do Nothing ; Erik Maza , I see you there as a fox inside the henhouse , though your story recommending a $ 12,9000 watch has me thrown ) .
Over the coming months , the influence of the pandemic became more overt , if no less unreal .
I knew the world was going to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ gawking pleasure in the summer issue , particularly the “ Dreambook ” of fancy vacations to take once it ’ s safe to travel again .
One page listed “ Healing Havens : Because there ’ s no therapy quite like travel plus treatments.
” ( Thankfully no mention of pseudo-science ’ rona cures . )
The issue also included a list of suggested “ simple pleasures , ” some of which were actually perfectly relatable .
( No .
6 “ Say Yes to the Martini ” spoke to this writer .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ too priceless ( or pricey ) a summation of the T & C ethos .
In “ Grocery Shop As If You ’ re Going to the Theater , ” longtime Vanity Fair writer Amy Fine Collins offered this practical advice : “ Because you are : the theater of the street .
Getting dressed with care is a mood elevator ; it ’ s a visual , sensual , and aesthetic pleasure .
Try hunting for your disinfectant spray the way I do—in vintage Geoffrey Beene and Jen Schlumberger for Tiffany & @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in that issue was cringe inducing .
Alongside worthy names like Anthony Fauci and Jose Andres , there was New Orleans Pelicans owner Gayle Benson , worth more than $ 3 billion , getting plaudits for…not being a monster ?
She “ guaranteed wages for workers during the closure , as did others , including Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban and Washington Wizards owner Ted Leonsis.
” How benevolent of the billionaires to pay their employees .
Guess that somehow counts as philanthropy ?
Things were in full swing by the September issue—and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ breaking point .
The issue featured the aforementioned pandemic jewelry article and a multi-page spread , titled “ The Bunker Boom Market , ” featuring some of the most expensive home sales of the year , with Jeff Bezos ’ $ 165 million property in Beverly Hills beating Mike Bloomberg ’ s $ 45 million Colorado ranch .
“ Whether they ’ re purchasing beachside estates , ranches on thousands of acres out West , or multiple apartments to combine into enormous urban skyscraper compounds , in 2020 the ultrawealthy paid a premium @ @ @ @ @ @ @ space.
” Accompanying this spread was a sidebar about home upgrades : “ Today you ’ ve got to drag your guests to the control room to show off the latest status symbols , like a Zehnder ventilation unit or the UV light that ’ s connected to your HVAC.
” Leaving aside that no private residence should have a space that could be termed “ the control room , ” it was yet another sign that the uber-wealthy think they can buy their way out of a public health crisis while the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ out of our houses .
It was just too much .
I know I ’ m surely not the target audience for this—I don ’ t fit their reader profile of a household income of $ 197,000 or an average net worth of $ 2.3 million—but it makes this “ journalism ” of coddling the sensibilities of the sheltered wealthy too stomach-churning in a year of staggering death tolls , racial injustice , and the worst economic crash since the Great Depression .
I left my October issue untouched for weeks , only @ @ @ @ @ @ @ write this .
In it I found a guide to how one should defend themselves if they were photographed with Jeffrey Epstein co-conspirator Ghislaine Maxwell .
“ To be sure , if you go out enough in New York , you run a distinct risk of being photographed with someone who later becomes infamous , ” the magazine put it .
Luckily , none of us are going out to parties anytime soon , and when we do eventually return to normal , if this sort of high-society sentiment is left in the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ t feel too sad about it .
—Patrick Caldwell

In the nearly eight months since the pandemic shut down life as we knew it, it’s been rare to find glimmers of hope in the media, so I was excited when a magazine I subscribe to included an anecdote in its lead that promised to be “an act of hope—that life would soon resume.”
That act, it turns out, was the purchase of a $28,000 pair of diamond earrings auctioned off by Sotheby’s.
While I wouldn’t call it hope—I would not be enjoying said diamonds—I was somehow, weirdly, possibly comforted by the fact that as everything else is in upheaval this year, Town & Country still runs stories headlined “Bangles in a PANDEMIC? The shelter at home shopping network is here, and it’s all about jewels—lots of them.”
The magazine has basically been my favorite hate read since a Fourth of July weekend away with friends last year, back when sharing a space with people outside your family was an act we all took for granted. As I lazily flipped through my host’s magazine rack, not expecting much, I became instantly sucked into the collection of Town & Country issues, transported to a weird alternative timeline where all of the day’s biggest news and scandals were reframed to focus on the true victims: the unfairly demonized rich. The magazine’s story framing was truly flabbergasting:
The opioid epidemic? Story headline: “Hello, My Name Is Sackler: When your husband and his family are accused of making billions off the opioid crisis, do you get to be a rebel without a cause?”
The college bribery scandal? Headlined “Is Your Money Still Good Here: The pay-for-play college scandal threatens to end a time honored system of favor trading.”
GoFundMe? “Suddenly, scanning your social media feed can feel like a walk down BEGGAR’S LANE [sic]. Can you escape with your wallet and relationships intact?”
#MeToo? Header cartoon of Les Moonves, Michael Cohen, and Charlie Rose at a steakhouse alongside this headline: “How to navigate eating out—and fellow diners—post disgrace.”
I rushed to buy a subscription.
In the December gift guide I was advised to style myself after Kendall Roy, and I read a glossy spread about a Hearst heir getting married at the family castle. The February issue’s jewelry awards opened with a pair of necklaces, one priced $461,000 and another at $824,00, while elsewhere in the issue there was a taxonomy of the types of safari goers: the dowager countess, the honeymooners, the “mommy are we rich?” set.
While it was new to me, the absurd elitism of Town and Country certainly wasn’t new. It’s one of the longest-running magazines in the country. When a new editor took over in 2011, the New York Times called it “an institution that has been edited, since its founding in 1846, for an affluent, ambitious reader eager to master the art of living well.” Stellene Volandes, the magazine’s editor-in-chief since 2016, has been described on the website as a “known jewelry expert” who “speaks frequently on the topics of luxury and jewelry.” How T&C covers these travails of the rich isn’t trivial: Its print circulation of 425,000 is more than twice ours here at Mother Jones. Movie stars grace its cover. Michael Bloomberg and Chelsea Clinton both spoke at its first “philanthropy summit” back in 2014. Serious, good journalists whose work I enjoy elsewhere, like Taffy Brodesser-Akner and Adam Gopnik, contribute to the magazine. (I have to imagine their per-word rate is great, and so hopefully the executives at Hearst ignore this article when I someday pitch them.) Much of each issue doesn’t read all that different than any other glossy magazine that peddles a vision of high-class life (GQ’s list of the best leather jackets starts with one costing nearly $7,000), but there are about two to five stories in each issue that stop me cold, awed at the way parts of the world have been reframed to best pamper the cloistered elite.
But from the outset of the pandemic, it was clear that the rich were not handling lockdown well. Nor was the magazine. It was, like the people it covers, mostly operating in an alternate universe (one in which the net worth of billionaires soared while more than 22 million jobs were lost). And what I once found amusing, even charming-yet-cringe-inducing, now felt gross.
One week early in the pandemic, as the rich fled to their luxurious vacation homes, imprisoned the help, and sang off-key covers in misguided attempts to calm the normals, I checked T&C’s website. It took a decent bit of scrolling to find the first COVID reference, which came in a bloc on the homepage for “All the Latest Royal News.” Those stories were mostly about how various members of the royal family—even as distant as Prince George’s godfather—donated to various relief efforts. There was an entry titled “Queen Elizabeth Will Not Have a Gun Salute on Her Birthday for the First Time in Her Reign.” The tragedy.
Like many print publications—us included—T&C’s shipping schedule precluded it from focusing on COVID in the first issue to arrive after lockdown. Instead: a guide to improved face lift procedures, with doctor recommendations in NYC, Chicago, LA, and SF, and a story about how just no one wants to retire anymore, pointing, of course, to exceedingly rich retirees (written by Joel Stein, whose latest book is entitled In Defense of Elitism). The only overt mention of the coronavirus came in the opening Editor’s Letter, wherein Volandes notes the issue was started in their offices and wrapped after everyone had to be sent home. It included a staff list of favorite comforts, mostly surprisingly down-to-earth suggestions of alcohol, sugar, and exercise (and one truly shocking shoutout to Jenny Odell’s excellent anti-capitalism manifesto How to Do Nothing; Erik Maza, I see you there as a fox inside the henhouse, though your story recommending a $12,9000 watch has me thrown).
Over the coming months, the influence of the pandemic became more overt, if no less unreal. I knew the world was going to shit, but I still took some gawking pleasure in the summer issue, particularly the “Dreambook” of fancy vacations to take once it’s safe to travel again. One page listed “Healing Havens: Because there’s no therapy quite like travel plus treatments.” (Thankfully no mention of pseudo-science ’rona cures.) The issue also included a list of suggested “simple pleasures,” some of which were actually perfectly relatable. (No. 6 “Say Yes to the Martini” spoke to this writer.) But No. 13 was just too priceless (or pricey) a summation of the T&C ethos. In “Grocery Shop As If You’re Going to the Theater,” longtime Vanity Fair writer Amy Fine Collins offered this practical advice: “Because you are: the theater of the street. Getting dressed with care is a mood elevator; it’s a visual, sensual, and aesthetic pleasure. Try hunting for your disinfectant spray the way I do—in vintage Geoffrey Beene and Jen Schlumberger for Tiffany & Co. jewels.”
The annual philanthropy list in that issue was cringe inducing. Alongside worthy names like Anthony Fauci and Jose Andres, there was New Orleans Pelicans owner Gayle Benson, worth more than $3 billion, getting plaudits for…not being a monster? She “guaranteed wages for workers during the closure, as did others, including Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban and Washington Wizards owner Ted Leonsis.” How benevolent of the billionaires to pay their employees. Guess that somehow counts as philanthropy?
Things were in full swing by the September issue—and with that, I was nearing my breaking point. The issue featured the aforementioned pandemic jewelry article and a multi-page spread, titled “The Bunker Boom Market,” featuring some of the most expensive home sales of the year, with Jeff Bezos’ $165 million property in Beverly Hills beating Mike Bloomberg’s $45 million Colorado ranch. “Whether they’re purchasing beachside estates, ranches on thousands of acres out West, or multiple apartments to combine into enormous urban skyscraper compounds, in 2020 the ultrawealthy paid a premium for privacy and, above all, space.”
Accompanying this spread was a sidebar about home upgrades: “Today you’ve got to drag your guests to the control room to show off the latest status symbols, like a Zehnder ventilation unit or the UV light that’s connected to your HVAC.” Leaving aside that no private residence should have a space that could be termed “the control room,” it was yet another sign that the uber-wealthy think they can buy their way out of a public health crisis while the rest of us leave our friends locked out of our houses.
It was just too much. I know I’m surely not the target audience for this—I don’t fit their reader profile of a household income of $197,000 or an average net worth of $2.3 million—but it makes this “journalism” of coddling the sensibilities of the sheltered wealthy too stomach-churning in a year of staggering death tolls, racial injustice, and the worst economic crash since the Great Depression.
I left my October issue untouched for weeks, only diving in when I sat down to write this. In it I found a guide to how one should defend themselves if they were photographed with Jeffrey Epstein co-conspirator Ghislaine Maxwell. “To be sure, if you go out enough in New York, you run a distinct risk of being photographed with someone who later becomes infamous,” the magazine put it. Luckily, none of us are going out to parties anytime soon, and when we do eventually return to normal, if this sort of high-society sentiment is left in the garbage heap of 2020, I won’t feel too sad about it. —Patrick Caldwell


motherjones--2020-11-02--Biden Got It Right: The 2020 Race Is About the Soul of the Nation

It always sounded hokey , but it was an accurate description of the 2020 election : a fight for the nation ’ s soul .
Joe Biden adopted this as his catchphrase when he entered the campaign .
But whether he were in the race or not , this shorthand would have aptly framed the contest .
Since moving into the White House , Donald Trump , the first reality-show president , has debased the country with his bigotry , divisiveness , and demagoguery .
And to make literally everything worse , his brazen incompetence , willful ignorance , and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a national disaster that has resulted in over 230,000 American deaths and widespread economic calamity affecting millions .
The driving question of 2020 had to be : would the voters of the United States accept this ?
What would it say about the country if they did ?
Trump has been a power-abusing , corruption-embracing , mean-spirited , racist president who has sought to inflame partisan anger and anxiety .
He has ruled by resentment .
He has governed by grievance .
He has whipped up hatred .
He has lied constantly and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
His list of offenses can and does full entire books .
Our individual memories are insufficient to hold the full catalogue of outrages .
Praising the “ very fine people ” at a white supremacist rally .
Attacking journalists as the “ enemy of the people.
” Aiding and abetting Vladimir Putin ’ s attack on American democracy .
Retweeting a “ white power ” video .
Pardoning accused or convicted war criminals .
Encouraging violence .
Inciting fear .
( Hordes of immigrants , Antifa , BLM protesters , low-income folk—take @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Promoting nepotism .
Exploiting and personally profiting from government service .
Covering up conflicts of interest .
Trashing transparency and avoiding accountability .
Violating the Constitution ( see the emoluments clause ) .
Demanding the arrest of political foes .
Obstructing investigations .
Undermining the legitimacy of elections .
None of this has anything to do with policy .
But Trump has also committed cruel acts of governance .
His administration has been trying to yank health insurance from millions of Americans , including those with pre-existing conditions .
He passed a tax @ @ @ @ @ @ @ middle- and lower-income Americans .
He ripped up significant environmental safeguards and reversed steps to counter actions necessary to address climate change and its awful consequences .
He praised and palled around with corrupt autocrats and murderous dictators .
( He protected Saudi Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman after MBS was accused of orchestrating the murder of Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi . )
He tried to impose a ban on Muslim travelers to the United States .
He attempted to remove protections afforded to the Dreamers , rendering them susceptible to deportation @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in cages , and orphaned hundreds .
Other presidents have adopted conservative and misguided stances .
Trump does not stand out in this regard .
But his unending war on decency and democratic norms—coupled with his affinity for authoritarianism—places him in a category apart from other chief executives .
In this way , Trump is a threat to the American experiment , as deeply imperfect as it has been .
Trump ’ s presidency has been fueled by gaslight .
Every day he is a con man peddling fibs , falsehoods , and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and fake remedies .
That has especially ( and lethally ) been the case during the coronavirus crisis .
He has prevaricated about the pandemic nonstop .
He downplayed its severity , claimed it wouldn ’ t last , and promoted treatments that were bunk .
He placed his own political interests ahead of the well-being of his fellow citizens .
And he betrayed the public with more than just his rhetoric .
He failed to take the necessary and basic steps that could have saved tens of thousands of lives , maybe @ @ @ @ @ @ @ safety measures including mask-wearing and social distancing .
Even worse than that , he insisted on holding events at the White House and on the campaign trail that posed a super-spreading threat and placed his own supporters and comrades in jeopardy .
It was as if Trump was on the side of the virus .
He rarely expressed empathy for those Americans suffering and dying .
In fact , in the closing weeks of the campaign , he signaled he was tired of all this COVID-19 stuff .
He stopped meeting with his @ @ @ @ @ @ @ had long rejected ) , and in his campaign speeches he mocked the media for covering the rising numbers of COVID-19 cases across the country .
The pandemic that still endangered the nation was , for Trump , just a bummer .
Here was a president essentially abandoning the country in its time of great need , in the midst of a tremendous threat .
“ I don ’ t take responsibility at all.
” “ It affects virtually nobody.
” “ If I can get better , anyone can get better.
” @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , dumb , and misleading remarks about this national emergency .
Shortly before the election , Trump ’ s oldest son appeared on Fox News and proclaimed COVID-19 deaths were down to “ almost nothing.
” That day , 1047 coronavirus deaths were recorded .
And the next morning , Trump himself tweeted that deaths were “ WAY DOWN.
” That was utterly false .
As one study found , Trump was the single largest spreader of disinformation about the pandemic .
Trump was doing the exact opposite of what a president ought @ @ @ @ @ @ @ protecting the public .
He was endangering it .
He could not hide his brazen disregard for public health , science , and…you .
He was assailing common sense and rationality .
He was peddling false information that kills .
Yet , even though thousands were dying every week from COVID-19 and millions of Americans remained in desperate financial straits , Trump was in a competitive position in the 2020 face-off .
He trailed in many of the polls , but he still had a shot at reelection .
For tens of millions @ @ @ @ @ @ @ incompetence , as well as his assaults on fundamental democratic and civil values , were not disqualifications .
They relished his dark and perverted view of the world .
They were jazzed by his race-baiting .
They were moved by his fear-mongering .
They bought his paranoid and outlandish conspiracy theories ( the Deep State was after him , doctors were hyping COVID death numbers to make money ) .
They cheered his crudeness and cruelty .
They got a rush from his attacks on experts .
Moreover , they believed him .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ willing to follow Trump down his trail of egotism and idiocy .
As has been widely noted , Trump has turned the Republican Party into a death cult .
But this is not only a problem for the GOP .
The millions who have eagerly joined Trump ’ s cult of personality reflect deep currents within American society .
They are part of the national soul .
So Biden is right .
If they emerge triumphant once more—whether through honest counting or through trickery and suppression—this will be a verdict on the basic @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , its democratic machinery .
When a first-term president seeks another four years , the election is usually a referendum on him .
That ’ s been more true than ever in 2020 .
The Trump campaign has strived mightily to make Biden the issue , cooking up a variety of fake and ludicrous controversies : his alleged infirmity , his supposed allegiance to “ the radical left , ” and unproven accusations of Biden family corruption .
Not much has stuck .
Desperate last-minute efforts to orchestrate an October Surprise fizzled .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ is a known—maybe too well-known—quantity .
He didn ’ t need to introduce or prove himself to most voters .
Once the pandemic struck , he acted responsibly and campaigned modestly .
He was a safe alternative , even if he wasn ’ t inspiring .
But who needs inspiration during a public health care crisis ?
Competence will do just fine .
At the start of the race , Biden presented himself as the antidote to Trump the self-serving , hate-hurling thug .
He pitched the narrative that he is a decent @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Scranton who believed that even congressional Republicans could be reached , on occasion , with reason and a plea for the greater good .
It seemed a bit quaint , this notion that Biden could dispatch Trump and lead the country to an era of good feeling and cooperation .
“ We ’ re better than this , Biden insisted , sometimes sounding like he was propelled more by wishful thinking than the recognition of reality .
Folks on Twitter especially mocked Biden for his old-fashioned belief that once Trump was out of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ with Mitch McConnell and other Republicans and , like gentlemen and gentleladies , work out the nation ’ s differences and together solve the problems that ail the United States .
Biden didn ’ t seem to grasp that the soul trouble of the nation was not the result of one loud-mouth former celebrity .
Prevailing in this battle would entail more than the defenestration of a single president .
The darkness infecting the country extended to an entire political party that was no longer the GOP that Biden fondly recalled—and to millions @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the know-nothingism and hostility of Trump and Trumpism .
If a pandemic had not descended upon the United States , Biden ’ s “ soul of the nation ” pitch—which did not help him in the earliest rounds of the Democratic Party ’ s presidential primary contest—might have worn thin .
But Trump ’ s inept response to the horrific coronavirus crisis showed that what Americans need most is a leader who could effectively tend to their health and safety .
And Trump ’ s erratic , detached , tribalized , it ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the pandemic demonstrated that body and soul were one during this emergency .
His demagogic and divisive mismanagement cast a sharp light on the most troubling aspects of his character and his presidency .
Now his bluster , dishonesty , ineptitude , and narcissism were killing Americans .
The troubled man who had vowed in his inaugural speech that “ this American carnage stops right here ” was responsible for a level of carnage unseen in the United States for a century .
Reality proved to be a killer for Trump .
He @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
And he and his minions were prepared to pooh-pooh Biden ’ s critiques of Trump ’ s character as those of a sniveling weakling and career politician who couldn ’ t match Trump ’ s fortitude and fierceness .
But the rising death count and the continuing economic disaster made Biden ’ s case : Trump ’ s flaws had consequences .
This was not just a question of style .
Trump represented the worst qualities of the nation ( and of human nature ) , and Americans were dying because he @ @ @ @ @ @ @ is indeed a reality check .
Do most voters—and do enough voters in swing states—recognize the realities of Trump ’ s fake presidency ?
He has spread a deadly strain of authoritarianism , animus , and ignorance within the US government and American society .
Will the body politic now expel this virus ?
Are the antibodies strong enough ?
There are sharp policy differences galore between Trump and Biden .
One is aiming to throw millions off their health insurance ; the other wants to expand health care coverage .
One shouts @ @ @ @ @ @ @ face of police brutality and racial injustice , the other proposes steps to address these challenges .
One touts tax cuts for his rich friends , the other vows to redress economic inequality .
Climate change , gun violence , reproductive rights , immigration , education , nuclear nonproliferation—run through the list ; they hold starkly opposing positions .
Much of this is the usual R-versus-D stuff .
But in the 2020 showdown , more is on the table .
What is being tested in this election is whether the Trump infection and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and kleptocracy can be beaten back .
Trump and Biden are on the ballot , but the nation ’ s character is on the line .

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It always sounded hokey, but it was an accurate description of the 2020 election: a fight for the nation’s soul.
Joe Biden adopted this as his catchphrase when he entered the campaign. But whether he were in the race or not, this shorthand would have aptly framed the contest. Since moving into the White House, Donald Trump, the first reality-show president, has debased the country with his bigotry, divisiveness, and demagoguery. And to make literally everything worse, his brazen incompetence, willful ignorance, and pathological narcissism shaped an inept response to a national disaster that has resulted in over 230,000 American deaths and widespread economic calamity affecting millions. The driving question of 2020 had to be: would the voters of the United States accept this? What would it say about the country if they did?
Trump has been a power-abusing, corruption-embracing, mean-spirited, racist president who has sought to inflame partisan anger and anxiety. He has ruled by resentment. He has governed by grievance. He has whipped up hatred. He has lied constantly and excessively. He has exhausted the country. His list of offenses can and does full entire books. Our individual memories are insufficient to hold the full catalogue of outrages. Praising the “very fine people” at a white supremacist rally. Attacking journalists as the “enemy of the people.” Aiding and abetting Vladimir Putin’s attack on American democracy. Retweeting a “white power” video. Pardoning accused or convicted war criminals. Encouraging violence. Inciting fear. (Hordes of immigrants, Antifa, BLM protesters, low-income folk—take your pick—are invading the suburbs!) Promoting nepotism. Exploiting and personally profiting from government service. Covering up conflicts of interest. Trashing transparency and avoiding accountability. Violating the Constitution (see the emoluments clause). Demanding the arrest of political foes. Obstructing investigations. Undermining the legitimacy of elections.
None of this has anything to do with policy. But Trump has also committed cruel acts of governance. His administration has been trying to yank health insurance from millions of Americans, including those with pre-existing conditions. He passed a tax cut that favored the well-heeled and shafted middle- and lower-income Americans. He ripped up significant environmental safeguards and reversed steps to counter actions necessary to address climate change and its awful consequences. He praised and palled around with corrupt autocrats and murderous dictators. (He protected Saudi Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman after MBS was accused of orchestrating the murder of Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi.) He tried to impose a ban on Muslim travelers to the United States. He attempted to remove protections afforded to the Dreamers, rendering them susceptible to deportation. He separated families, placed children in cages, and orphaned hundreds. Other presidents have adopted conservative and misguided stances. Trump does not stand out in this regard. But his unending war on decency and democratic norms—coupled with his affinity for authoritarianism—places him in a category apart from other chief executives. In this way, Trump is a threat to the American experiment, as deeply imperfect as it has been.
Trump has ruled by resentment. He has governed by grievance. He has whipped up hatred. He has lied constantly and excessively. He has exhausted the country. His list of offenses can and does full entire books. Our individual memories are insufficient to hold the full catalogue of outrages.
Trump’s presidency has been fueled by gaslight. Every day he is a con man peddling fibs, falsehoods, and fabrications. His currency is snake oil and fake remedies. That has especially (and lethally) been the case during the coronavirus crisis. He has prevaricated about the pandemic nonstop. He downplayed its severity, claimed it wouldn’t last, and promoted treatments that were bunk. He placed his own political interests ahead of the well-being of his fellow citizens. And he betrayed the public with more than just his rhetoric. He failed to take the necessary and basic steps that could have saved tens of thousands of lives, maybe more. Worse, he scoffed at safety measures including mask-wearing and social distancing. Even worse than that, he insisted on holding events at the White House and on the campaign trail that posed a super-spreading threat and placed his own supporters and comrades in jeopardy.
It was as if Trump was on the side of the virus. He rarely expressed empathy for those Americans suffering and dying. In fact, in the closing weeks of the campaign, he signaled he was tired of all this COVID-19 stuff. He stopped meeting with his public health advisers (whose guidance he had long rejected), and in his campaign speeches he mocked the media for covering the rising numbers of COVID-19 cases across the country. The pandemic that still endangered the nation was, for Trump, just a bummer.
Here was a president essentially abandoning the country in its time of great need, in the midst of a tremendous threat. “I don’t take responsibility at all.” “It affects virtually nobody.” “If I can get better, anyone can get better.” Trump could not stop with the irresponsible, dumb, and misleading remarks about this national emergency. Shortly before the election, Trump’s oldest son appeared on Fox News and proclaimed COVID-19 deaths were down to “almost nothing.” That day, 1047 coronavirus deaths were recorded. And the next morning, Trump himself tweeted that deaths were “WAY DOWN.” That was utterly false. As one study found, Trump was the single largest spreader of disinformation about the pandemic.
Trump was doing the exact opposite of what a president ought to do. He wasn’t protecting the public. He was endangering it. He could not hide his brazen disregard for public health, science, and…you. He was assailing common sense and rationality. He was peddling false information that kills.
Yet, even though thousands were dying every week from COVID-19 and millions of Americans remained in desperate financial straits, Trump was in a competitive position in the 2020 face-off. He trailed in many of the polls, but he still had a shot at reelection. For tens of millions of voters, his deadly negligence and incompetence, as well as his assaults on fundamental democratic and civil values, were not disqualifications. They relished his dark and perverted view of the world. They were jazzed by his race-baiting. They were moved by his fear-mongering. They bought his paranoid and outlandish conspiracy theories (the Deep State was after him, doctors were hyping COVID death numbers to make money). They cheered his crudeness and cruelty. They got a rush from his attacks on experts. Moreover, they believed him. Whatever he said. And they were willing to follow Trump down his trail of egotism and idiocy.
As has been widely noted, Trump has turned the Republican Party into a death cult. But this is not only a problem for the GOP. The millions who have eagerly joined Trump’s cult of personality reflect deep currents within American society. They are part of the national soul. So Biden is right. If they emerge triumphant once more—whether through honest counting or through trickery and suppression—this will be a verdict on the basic nature of the country and, perhaps, its democratic machinery.
When a first-term president seeks another four years, the election is usually a referendum on him. That’s been more true than ever in 2020. The Trump campaign has strived mightily to make Biden the issue, cooking up a variety of fake and ludicrous controversies: his alleged infirmity, his supposed allegiance to “the radical left,” and unproven accusations of Biden family corruption. Not much has stuck. Desperate last-minute efforts to orchestrate an October Surprise fizzled. This election is about Trump. Biden is a known—maybe too well-known—quantity. He didn’t need to introduce or prove himself to most voters. Once the pandemic struck, he acted responsibly and campaigned modestly. He was a safe alternative, even if he wasn’t inspiring. But who needs inspiration during a public health care crisis? Competence will do just fine.
At the start of the race, Biden presented himself as the antidote to Trump the self-serving, hate-hurling thug. He pitched the narrative that he is a decent, caring, and hard-working fellow from Scranton who believed that even congressional Republicans could be reached, on occasion, with reason and a plea for the greater good. It seemed a bit quaint, this notion that Biden could dispatch Trump and lead the country to an era of good feeling and cooperation. “We’re better than this, Biden insisted, sometimes sounding like he was propelled more by wishful thinking than the recognition of reality. Folks on Twitter especially mocked Biden for his old-fashioned belief that once Trump was out of the way, he could sit down with Mitch McConnell and other Republicans and, like gentlemen and gentleladies, work out the nation’s differences and together solve the problems that ail the United States.
Biden didn’t seem to grasp that the soul trouble of the nation was not the result of one loud-mouth former celebrity. Prevailing in this battle would entail more than the defenestration of a single president. The darkness infecting the country extended to an entire political party that was no longer the GOP that Biden fondly recalled—and to millions of Americans who had accepted and craved the know-nothingism and hostility of Trump and Trumpism.
If a pandemic had not descended upon the United States, Biden’s “soul of the nation” pitch—which did not help him in the earliest rounds of the Democratic Party’s presidential primary contest—might have worn thin. But Trump’s inept response to the horrific coronavirus crisis showed that what Americans need most is a leader who could effectively tend to their health and safety. And Trump’s erratic, detached, tribalized, it’s-about-me, facts-don’t-matter approach to the pandemic demonstrated that body and soul were one during this emergency. His demagogic and divisive mismanagement cast a sharp light on the most troubling aspects of his character and his presidency. Now his bluster, dishonesty, ineptitude, and narcissism were killing Americans. The troubled man who had vowed in his inaugural speech that “this American carnage stops right here” was responsible for a level of carnage unseen in the United States for a century.
Reality proved to be a killer for Trump. He had always bullshitted his way to success. And he and his minions were prepared to pooh-pooh Biden’s critiques of Trump’s character as those of a sniveling weakling and career politician who couldn’t match Trump’s fortitude and fierceness. But the rising death count and the continuing economic disaster made Biden’s case: Trump’s flaws had consequences. This was not just a question of style. Trump represented the worst qualities of the nation (and of human nature), and Americans were dying because he was in power.
So this election is indeed a reality check. Do most voters—and do enough voters in swing states—recognize the realities of Trump’s fake presidency? He has spread a deadly strain of authoritarianism, animus, and ignorance within the US government and American society. Will the body politic now expel this virus? Are the antibodies strong enough?
There are sharp policy differences galore between Trump and Biden. One is aiming to throw millions off their health insurance; the other wants to expand health care coverage. One shouts “law and order” in the face of police brutality and racial injustice, the other proposes steps to address these challenges. One touts tax cuts for his rich friends, the other vows to redress economic inequality. Climate change, gun violence, reproductive rights, immigration, education, nuclear nonproliferation—run through the list; they hold starkly opposing positions. Much of this is the usual R-versus-D stuff. But in the 2020 showdown, more is on the table. What is being tested in this election is whether the Trump infection and this democracy’s slide toward authoritarianism and kleptocracy can be beaten back. Trump and Biden are on the ballot, but the nation’s character is on the line.