Category: politics

Trump Tracker (2nd term)

Ugh, I hate starting this thread (and it’s revolting to write “2nd term”), but I want a place to post articles that will serve as a matter of record. For example, this WaPo article about Trump transition not working with the federal agencies that help every president make the transition. Here are things the Trump team are not doing:

Trump has yet to collaborate with the General Services Administration, which is tasked with the complex work of handing over control of hundreds of agencies,because he has not turned in required pledges to follow ethics rules.His transition teams have yet to set foot inside a single federal office.

In calls with foreign heads of state, Trump has cut out the State Department, its secure lines and its official interpreters.

As his team considers hundreds of potential appointees for key jobs,he’s so far declined to let the Federal Bureau of Investigation check for potential red flags and security threats to guard against espionage — instead relying on private campaign lawyers for some appointees and doing no vetting at all for others.Trump’s transition team is considering moving on his first day in office to give those appointees blanket security clearances, according to people familiar with the discussions who spoke on the condition of anonymity to disclose private conversations.

My concerns: control over the agencies will be poor; jeopardizing national security by not using secure lines of the state department with competent interpreters and giving blanket security clearances to people that shouldn’t have them.

Has the Descent into Autocracy Begun?

I believe Anne Applebaum of the Atlantic stated that modern day authoritarian regimes don’t usually occur through a violent coup. Instead, they happen gradually. The executive in power attempts to control the press, first through intimidation and threats, and then maybe eventually getting literal control. They take over the equivalent of the Department of Justice and FBI and begin to use these institutions to protect themselves and their family, while siccing these entities on their political enemies. They also surround themselves with people loyal to them–loyalty being more important than competence and fidelity to the rule of law. This is just some of things an autocrat does to gradually erode a liberal democracy.

Unfortunately, I think that process has begun in the US. (I would love to be convinced that I’m being too alarmist about this.) Really, I feel like I’m living in a nightmare, and I have a hard time believing this is happening. The situation is stressful, and in addition to praying a lot and greater effort to rely on God, I thought creating a thread to track the occurrences of backsliding would be therapeutic–specifically, having a place to let this out instead of keeping it bottled up. (Then again, this might have the opposite effect, in which case I might abandon the project.)

When I think about the beginning of liberal democratic demise, WaPo and the LA Times announcing they would no longer announce presidential candidates is what comes to mind.

A few days ago, here are some other things relevant to the topic:

  • Reports that Jack Smith will stop the two prosecutions against Trump;
  • Reports that Trump allies want to punish Smith, including talks that Rep. Jim Jordan will start a House investigation;
  • Trump’s appointments–Rep. Matt Gaetz to be the AG; Tulsi Gabbard to Director of National Intelligence (DNI); Pete Hegseth to be Secretary of Defense. That’s a few off the top of my head. This makes me think of a warning I constantly heard before the election: In Trump 2.0, there will be no guardrails.

More later.

What I Expect After the Election

In the last eight years I’ve consumed the most news in my life–subscribing to both the NYT and WaPo for the first time (sometime during Trump’s first term). For a lot of this time, I also followed several academics, journalists, politicians, former political appointees and federal government officials on Twitter. In the sections below, I have written things I expect–or at least won’t be surprised by–based on all the information I’ve consumed–including what I’ve seen and read from Trump himself. Indeed, if they don’t happen, I will be really surprised.

If Trump loses

  • Trump will claim he won and claim the election was rigged;
  • Trump and his supporters will attempt to overturn the election in a variety of ways;
  • (I’m hoping this doesn’t happen) violence from Trump supporters–including violence against prominent politicians;

If Trump wins

  • Harris concedes;
  • Protests from Harris supporters and maybe some violence from them;
  • Trump will surround himself with people who will do his bidding.
  • Trump will use the government to go after political rivals, journalists, businesses that have crossed or criticized him;
  • Trump will have federal court cases against him dropped;

I’m sure there are other things, but these are the ones that come to mind quickly. To me, everything I said above would be uncontroversial to anyone who has followed good sources of news for the last eight years; I don’t have special insight or knowledge. (I did spend some time and energy in consuming the information, though.)

How We Got Here

My previous post discussed the failures of the press relating to the upcoming election. But I don’t want to leave the impression that I believe the press deserves the most blame. They don’t. To me, a lot of great reporting occurred, but I believe they failed in the larger framing of Harris vs.Trump and Democrats and Republicans–a failure that may have superseded the great reporting in terms of overall impact.

Having said that, more of the blame should go to two other groups–in this order

Continue reading “How We Got Here”

“How can any meeting between Trump and Harris be a ‘debate’ if Trump has already made clear that he rejects the foundations of the American system of government?”

That’s a quote from a recent Atlantic post from Tom Nichols, and it gets to the absurdity of the debate for me. The policies of either candidate are secondary if one of the candidates doesn’t respect the rule of law, the Constitution or even facts. Briefly touching on the latter to go into the former seems wrong to me. Doing so implies that a candidate that rejects key beliefs and norms for a liberal democracy is a viable candidate. Maybe it’s just me, but I think that’s absurd, and the press sending this is message is a major failing on their part.

Trump and Republicans Supporting Him are on Russia’s Side

Blocking aide to Ukraine. And comments like this (which is consistent with previous comments Trump has made about NATO). Someone said that if a Democrat said this prior to 2016, Republicans (and conservative) media would be castigating this person, calling them a traitor.

Not only are Trump and his Republican supporters aiding Russia, they’re aiding authoritarian rulers in countries like China, Iran, North Korea.

Trump Thwarting Bi-partisan Senate Deal on the Border

The U.S. Senate was real close to a deal on the border and also funding for Ukraine and Israel. A few days ago I read that Senator McConnell said that this deal would be better than if the Republicans controlled Congress and the White House. Democrats want funding for Ukraine so much they haven’t included a pathway to citizenship for Dreamers.

But McConnell and Romney say that Trump is pressuring Republican senators not to accept the current bipartisan deal. Romney says that Trump does want Biden to get a political victory with this deal–even though it would help address a problem many Republicans say is critical. Listen to Romney’s comments:

A Message to Trump Supporters I’ve Been Waiting to Hear

I’ve been waiting for a prominent public figure to reach out to Trump supporters–particularly those who feel anxious and angry by the social and cultural changed around them–in a way that expressed sympathy for their feelings, but also encouraged them to work through these feelings. I haven’t heard this message from any political leader, on either side of the aisle, or a prominent public figure. Until now. This message below from Arnold Schwarzenegger comes the closest. I hope other leaders deliver something similar.

This is How I Expected Republicans to Act, Part 2

I had an earlier thread on this topic, focusing on the Lincoln Project folks and other Never Trumpers. Recently, several prominent Republicans (besides Liz Cheney and Adam Kinzinger) and former Trump officials have publicly criticized Trump in a way that would be earth-shattering, prior to 2016. Some of these individuals deserve opprobrium for their actions in the Trump administration (e.g., Bill Barr), others enabled, at least tacitly, also deserve strong criticism (e.g., Chris Christie, and even Liz Cheney)–but their public comments now are really important for the country.

Perhaps some believe their comments are a too late and likely won’t have impact. I disagree. While the comments likely won’t change the minds of hardcore Trump supporters, I think it could significantly impact casual news consumers. If former, high-ranking Trump administration officials and prominent Republicans criticize Trump and call out his lies, that undermines narratives that erode the trust in our elections and the DOJ, FBI, and the mainstream press. I believe this will be sway these casual news consumers and inattentive voters–groups that I believe are a large majority of the voters.

In this thread, I’m going to try and post videos, articles, and statements by these Republicans speaking out against Trump.