What’s So Bad About Trump’s Tweets
Plus, Mayor Pete and A.B. Stoddard join today's podcast...
Leading The Bulwark…
What’s So Bad About Trump’s Tweets
Robert Tracinski: Actually, the tweets are a problem.
Editor’s note: The last Presidential debate, if there will actually be one (I predict there will) is coming up on Thursday. Members of Bulwark+ will be able to join us for a special post-debate livestream on Zoom.
Thousands of members have joined us for the first three, and if you haven’t sprung to become a member, now’s the time. We hope you’ll join us!
🎧On the Pods… 🎧
Pete Buttigieg and A.B. Stoddard on the Known Unknowns of the 2020 Election
On today’s Bulwark podcast, Pete Buttigieg joins host Charlie Sykes to discuss the state of the 2020 campaign, and A.B. Stoddard discusses her ten “known unknowns” of the 2020 election.
Could Trump’s Tax Troubles End in Indictment?
Our friends at Checks & Balances have a very interesting podcast this week. (I’m biased because I help produce it…) J.W. Verret and Miranda Fleischer join host Paul Rosenzweig to talk about the President's tax returns, bank loans, and questionable campaign financing, and whether he might be in legal trouble after he leaves office.
If you’re wondering about the future for Trump, win, or lose, take a listen to this grounded-in-reality discussion by three experts.
From The Bulwark Aggregator…
How the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally may have spread coronavirus across the Upper Midwest – Brittany Shammas and Lena H. Sun, The Washington Post
How Biden destroyed Trump’s TV ad ‘death star’ – Marc Caputo, Politico
As Local News Dies, a Pay-for-Play Network Rises in Its Place – Davey Alba and Jack Nicas, The New York Times
The Chomsky Position On Voting – Nathan J. Robinson, Current Affairs
Trump Is Taking Down Names as Republicans Begin Jumping Ship on His ‘Totally Off the Rails’ Campaign – Asawin Suebsaeng, Sam Stein, The Daily Beast
Evangelicals Made a Bad Bargain With Trump – Peter Wehner, The Atlantic
Where will all the Trump staffers go? Preparing for the worst, the GOP ponders life after Trump – Jacqueline Alemany, The Washington Post
In today’s Bulwark…
Learning the Right Lessons from the Trump Experience
David Shaywitz: Don’t forget the rule of stopped clocks.
Conservative Make-Believe
Jonathan V. Last wonders, in The Triad, what percentage of Trump followers will stick with him and venture into his alternative reality world should he lose in November.
What’s your guess?
🚨OVERTIME 🚨
Greetings from rainy Ferguson, Missouri! Not only is switching time zones difficult for children, it’s difficult for adults who have them and are used to a regular routine.
We’re staying at one of those dreary airport extended stay hotels that contract workers and recent divorcees frequent. It’s cheap, but the internet is good, but sadly, due to COVID-19, the complimentary happy hour has been taken away. Most importantly, it spares the in-laws being woken up at 6 AM CST by twins singing songs from Daniel Tiger at the top of their lungs. I told my wife to imagine we’re just on Spring Break at Lake of the Ozarks with two really boisterous friends (and a dog). Members of Bulwark+ will be able to see these palatial digs on the post-debate livestream. Not a member?
I’m usually back in St. Louis a few times a year, and this is my first time since last fall. It’s good to be back.
Obligatory road trip photo: A Pennsylvania barn divided.
The den of dissent. The Washington Post takes a look inside Trump’s COVID-19 task force, including the Fox News radiologist Trump saw on TV and hired because he liked him. And who could potentially get many more people killed.
From Bulwark reader Charlotte Roe… A very interesting column in the Salt Lake Tribune on the echoes of Pinochet in the 2020 election. (I mean, come on, you don’t think Trump superfan Dave Reaboi is really just thirsty for military helicopter porn, do you?)
Since I am in Saint Louis… I have to plug the local beverage of choice for their great new ad:
Even The Beach Boys are fighting over Trump. Variety has this exclusive.
It’ll be hard to replace Doc Emrick. Even casual hockey fans know his voice, and the news of Doc Emrick retiring from commentating has me sad. Defector reflects on his career and what made him such a pleasure to listen to. I’m just glad we’ll have those Blues and Capitals Stanley Cup highlights to listen to with his trademark tones.
PragerU makes its way to public schooling. It’s not a place that content belongs.
A car-free development. In Charlotte, a developer wants to build a housing project that requires the tenants do not own cars, and can evict them if they purchase one. Doesn’t sound like a place I would want to live (or anyone with children, really), but they should be able to build it if they want to, and enforce those rules.
Bleach your eyes… You do not want to read this story. Or maybe you do if you’re not a Jeff Toobin fan. But don’t say I didn’t warn you.
Inside The Malarkey Factory. During the 2004 race, many a joke was made in Bush World about the President’s “strategery” gaffe. Over in Biden World, 16 years later, while Malarkey isn’t a Biden gaffe, rather a trademark, the word has now taken over the traditional term for a war room.
An interesting highlight:
“Our theory of the case has been that we need to find and identify the misinformation that is actually moving voters, even if it is a small number of voters, then find who those voters are and see if we can intervene,” said Rob Flaherty, the campaign’s digital director and head of the Malarkey Factory. “There’s misinformation that inflames a base. There’s misinformation that persuades people. And there’s misinformation that suppresses a base.”
While it is increasingly easy to determine where misinformation is coming from, given the proliferation of online tools, the trickier challenge is figuring out whether it’s shaping voting behavior and merits a response.
Well, that’s it for me today, dear reader. It’s time to get ready for dinner with the fam.
Remember, you can always drop me a line if you have any questions, comments, or concerns at: swift@thebulwark.com. I’ll do my best to get back to you.
If you’re not a member of Bulwark+, there’s still time to join between now and Thursday to see our live stream post-debate Zoom show.
And if you’d like to share Overtime with a friend, please do! We’d love to add people who would appreciate what we’re about to join our little concern as readers.
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