Trump’s Plane Crash Response Is as Cheap as You’d Expect
Plus: South Africa Had a Trump. They Handled Him Better.
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BENJAMIN PARKER: Trump’s Plane Crash Response Is as Cheap as You’d Expect
THERE ARE PLENTY OF REASONABLE, nuanced, principled criticisms of DEI programs, and we at The Bulwark have made a lot of them.
But the attack on diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) programs that Donald Trump and JD Vance advanced at their press briefing Thursday—which was nominally in response to the tragic mid-air collision over the Potomac River Wednesday night—is foolish on its own terms.
ALAN ELROD: Trump’s Secret Weapon Has Always Been Status Anxiety
TIMES ARE HARD FOR AMERICAN WORKERS. They’ve been let down by decades of broadly bipartisan neoliberal consensus in economic policy that has left them in terrible debt, with stagnant wages and few prospects of good-paying work. Anxiety over the horrible state of the economy and their general immiseration drove them into the arms of Donald Trump, whose populist appeal to them in 2016 centered on his ability to turn things around and get America back on a prosperous footing.
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HOLLY BERKLEY-FLETCHER: South Africa Had a Trump. They Handled Him Better.
ONCE UPON A TIME, THERE WAS a very bad president who caused much harm to his country's democracy. Even before he became president, he was credibly accused of theft, fraud, and sexual assault, but people thought he was entertaining and supported him anyway. As president, he used the government to enrich himself and his cronies. He elevated corrupt incompetents who drove institutions into the ground. His once-proud political party—cowed by his fanatical, tribal following—tolerated him for too long. He attacked his own party, the free press, government officials, the judiciary, and anyone who tried to keep him accountable, eroding public trust in democracy itself.
JILL D. LAWRENCE: Extorting With Disaster: Why Stop At California?
IT’S APPARENTLY IN FASHION to put a price on disaster aid, at least as your opening bid. For Southern California, struggling with apocalyptic wildfires, President Donald Trump wants the state to pass a voter ID law and “turn the valve” that sends water from Northern to Southern California. (For the record, there is no valve and there is no water-supply shortage.)
Trump, House Speaker Mike Johnson, and other Republicans have discussed raising the debt limit as part of a disaster aid deal, as well as requiring California to correct alleged “water resource mismanagement, forest management mistakes, all sorts of problems,” as Johnson put it.
🚨OVERTIME🚨
It’s Thursday… With today’s spate of hearings: RFK Jr., Tulsi, and Kash Patel, the Senate side watering holes are going to be printing money.
This administration’s response to the crash has been consistently sickening, but not at all unexpected.
This is what America voted for.
Rest In Peace: Peter, Donna, Everly and Alydia Livingston, an Ashburn, Virginia family, all of whom perished in yesterday’s crash. 🇺🇸⛸️
Thanks to our first responders… D.C. as a region has many faults, but one area where it shines is a response to tragedy. Yesterday’s response, even if nobody survived, was frankly quite moving.
Archivists Work to Identify and Save… the Thousands of Datasets Disappearing From Data.gov (404Media)
The FAA is facing a major crisis without a leader… because Elon Musk pushed him out (The Verge)
When in doubt… Don’t criticize somebody’s horological hobby if you have skeletons in your closet.
“Several top FBI executives promoted by director Christopher Wray… were told today to resign or retire, and told they will be demoted or reassigned if they don’t leave” NBC’s Ken Dilanian reports.
So you’re saying there’s a chance… And James Lankford could vote against Tulsi Gabbard after flubbing a “softball” question? I wouldn’t bet money on it. John Curtis of Utah seems like a better bet on a surprise “nay” vote. Todd Young could be a surprise, too, but I rate that “coinflip.”
F.C.C. Chair Orders Investigation… Into NPR and PBS Sponsorships. (NYT🎁 )
Trump’s Budget Debacle Reveals a Major Flaw… in His Shock-and-Awe Approach (Slate)
Do illegal things… Or get put on administrative leave. A telling tale of what’s to come.
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