A Fool and a Tool: Trump Is Spreading Russian Disinformation
Plus: RFK Jr. Stands in the Way of Polio Eradication
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BILL KRISTOL & ANDREW EGGER: Trumpism Is Not Inevitable
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NINA JANKOWICZ: A Fool and a Tool: Trump Is Spreading Russian Disinformation
IN MY EARLIEST MEMORY OF MY GRANDFATHERāa jovial, whip-smart Polish immigrant who loved BudweiserāI am a toddler, sitting on his lap while a party swirls around us. He lectures me about the virtues of the United States, his adopted country, a democracy that took him in after he and his family had spent a dozen years as stateless people, first as prisoners in a Soviet labor camp near the Arctic Circle and later as refugees displaced by the Second World War. Once here, in just a few short years he went from working in a factory to building a successful business and living the American dream. There on his lap, I donāt know any of this and mostly just want to get back to playing with my cousin. But before I can squirm away, he reminds me, āYou can do anything in America, Nina. You can even be president.ā
BILL LUEDERS: Why Elon Musk Wants Brad Schimel on the Wisconsin Supreme Court
HAVING ELBOWED HIS WAY INTO an illicit co-presidency, shut down entire agencies because he felt like it, fired thousands of federal workers without grounds or authority, and begun laying his hands on millions of Americansā sensitive personal and financial information, Elon Musk has set his sights on another questionable goal: electing Brad Schimel to the Wisconsin Supreme Court.
š„ PODCASTS AND VIDEOS š§
Bulwark Podcast with Tim Miller: Bill Kristol and Jared Polis: Send In the Clown [YouTube]
The Next Level: Sarah & Tim at Principles First Summit: The Truth Is Non-NegotiableāWill America Wake Up? [YouTube]
The Focus Group: Will the Real POTUS Please Stand Up? (with Kara Swisher) [YouTube]
Bulwark Goes to Hollywood: SNL At 50
The Mona Charen Show: MAGA is Powered by Hatred
How to Fix It (with John Avlon): Rethinking the Environmental Movement (with Rachel Pritzker) [YouTube]
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DAVID OSHINSKY: RFK Jr. Stands in the Way of Polio Eradication
THE COVID PANDEMIC THAT REACHED our shores in winter of 2020 has taken more than 1.2 million American lives thus farāa staggering loss, on the one hand, and a tribute to modern medicine on the other. Until well into the twentieth century, the arrival and spread of infectious disease was met with panic, confusion, blame, flight, and ultimately resignation. A significant change occurred following the Second World War, with the development of antibiotics and vaccines for the treatment and prevention of everything from polio to measles, mumps, and tuberculosis. What made the COVID pandemic unique was the āwarp speedā with which medical researchers and federal officials responded, working hand-in-hand to develop and manufacture safe and effective vaccines that revolutionized the field while saving untold millions of lives.
JILL LAWRENCE: Start the 2026 Campaigns *Right Now*
ITāS NOT CLEAR YET if Democrat Janet Mills will run against Sen. Susan Collins in 2026, or if she should. But the Maine governorās confrontation with President Donald Trump on Friday was a bracing example of something thatās all too rare: a politician standing up to Trump in a direct, on-camera exchange that ended with nasty threats from the bully-in-chief.
šØOVERTIMEšØ
Happy Monday! First of all, welcome to Lauren Egan! Go follow her on BlueSky.
Baseball is back, and so are Steven Kwanās dingers. Though, I do not appreciate that, in the year 2025, MLB would have at least some coverage of every game. But for four teams, at least today, nada.
Rest in Peaceā¦ Larry. Dolan, longtime owner of the Cleveland Guardians, whose passing was announced today. Dolan, a fellow Ignatius graduate from āThe Heightsā, was 94.
šµOn the Jukeboxā¦ šµ Music to Refine To ā Severance feat ODESZA
GOP lawmakers scheduled to speakā¦ at āGalactic Federationā conspiracy event. (AZ Mirror).
Elon Muskā¦ is going to do the e-mail thing again. This, as HHS told its employees to assume replies may "be read by malign foreign actors.ā Meanwhile, while Musk is building a digital Fort Knox email inbox full of sensitive government information, heās talking on X with finance conspiracy accounts about doing an audit of Fort Knox in Kentucky. And WH Comms Dir Steven Cheung deleted a tweet suggesting the White House would comply with the 5 bullets.1
Only the best people!
John Oliverā¦ The 60 Minutes interview.
Is āEagle Edā going to let Rep. Cory Mills get arrested? Or is he too busy posting about the Associated Press? The Congressman was accused of domestic violence.
Meanwhile at the CFPBā¦ Russ Vought is doing a number.
Organizations in crisisā¦ Are the first to have a ārapid responseā social media account. Is that why the Pentagon has one?
HUD employees came back to workā¦ And saw, uh, this.
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5 bullets? Sounds like the worst game of roulette ever.
