You Have to Think of Trump’s Election as Year Zero
Plus: Dianne Feinstein’s Health and the Judicial Confirmation Crunch.
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SARAH LONGWELL: You Have to Think of Trump’s Election as Year Zero.
THERE ARE EVENTS SO EPOCHAL that they create clear periods of before and after: Hiroshima; the fall of the Berlin Wall; 9/11. Eight years after he declared his intention to run for president, it’s now clear that we should consider Donald Trump’s 2016 campaign not as part of America’s political continuum but as one of these temporal dividing lines.
In American politics, there were conventions and candidates that existed in 2015 Republican politics as the before times. 2015 BT. Before Trump.
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JILL LAWRENCE: Dianne Feinstein’s Health and the Judicial Confirmation Crunch.
Donald Trump has said thousands of offensive and dangerous things, but the one haunting me at the moment is merely annoying: his mocking putdown of former President Barack Obama for supposedly leaving Trump a gift of over a hundred judicial vacancies to fill. “I don’t know why Obama left that. It was like a big, beautiful present to all of us. Why the hell did he leave that?” Trump asked in a 2018 speech in Ohio. “Maybe he got complacent.”
No, as Trump presumably knows, Senate Republicans got obstructionist. But the Former Guy’s badgering from five years ago is a warning to Senate Democrats today, especially as pressure mounts on them—including the ailing Sen. Dianne Feinstein—to keep President Joe Biden’s judicial confirmations speeding along.
SUE MI TERRY: Six Things to Know About North Korea’s Newest Missile.
North Korea successfully carried out its first-ever flight test of a Hwasong-18 solid-fuel intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) on April 13, which it called a “miraculous success” and an improvement on its ability to mount a quick “nuclear counterattack.” This recent test follows the test of a high-thrust, solid-fuel engine in December and the display of a new solid-fuel ICBM during a military parade in February.
What does the latest test mean both operationally for North Korea’s nuclear capabilities and for U.S. policy toward North Korea? How much more of a threat does North Korea pose now than it did before developing this technology? And how should the United States respond? Here are the six things to consider about North Korea’s newest missile
🚨OVERTIME🚨
Happy Monday! Today is Emancipation Day (observed), celebrating the day the District of Columbia abolished slavery. (It also means free parking.) Breaking a years long pandemic streak, I’m in D.C. for the third day in a row, covering for Joe Perticone who is off this week. (I was in town for Cleveland Guardians and D.C. Defenders victories.) Today was supposed to be the beginning of the Dominion / Fox trial, but it has been delayed until Tuesday.
Mitch & Fetterman are back… After recovering from a fall, the 81 year old Senate minority leader returned to his post. How long does he plan to stay in leadership? And after a stay at Walter Reed, Pennsylvania Senator John Fetterman came back to the Capitol at a time when Democrats are trying to push through nominees.
Come at the Mouse you best not miss… Time and again it seems Ron DeSantis and his administration keeps getting stymied by Disney and the improvement district formerly known as Reedy Creek. DeSantis floated putting a state prison next to Disney in a presser, and made it clear that he’s targeting only Disney.
This gun mysteriously goes off without a trigger pull… And regulators can’t do anything about it.
For Years, the Left Has Laughed at Rod Dreher... Is That Over Now?
George Santos update: He’s running again, and he’s refunding more than he’s raising.
The changing goalposts… Of what conservative pundits expect (read: demand) of the King of Beers. Now, it’s “stay out of politics” because patriotic imagery pisses them off. We’re on day 17 of this.
Alvin Bragg’s secret weapon? It could be Michael Colangelo, who has been on his case for years. And seen success.
Conspiracy theories, and their rise… An interesting discussion from our friends at Connors Forum’s Utterly Moderate podcast.
The art… of American conservatism.
Your #Longread of the day… Paul Schrader’s Very Paul Schrader Days in Assisted Living.
Most of them are faking it… A freshman Congressman from North Carolina’s message about the angry voices in Congress after his first 100 days.
FBI arrests two… In connection with secret Chinese police outpost.
Camping with Steve… An interview with YouTube’s favorite “stealth camper.”
Does McDonald’s need better burgers? Apparently they think so.
Saint Louis’s beautiful decaying schools… This 2016 VICE video is haunting, beautiful, and sad.
An Eagle Who Adopted a Rock… Becomes a Real Dad. Finally, some good news out of Missouri.
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