How Team Trump Breached the Election System
Plus, The “Banana Republic” Fallacy.
Recently at The Bulwark:
TIM MILLER: The Mystery of the Missing Republican Ad Money.
JVL: Trump Is Trying To Extort America 🔐 and America Can Still Do Hard Things.
You can support The Bulwark by subscribing to Bulwark+ or just by sharing this newsletter with someone you think would value it.
AMANDA CARPENTER: How Team Trump Breached the Election System.
After the 2020 election, Donald Trump’s legal activists went to great lengths concocting scenarios about how ballots might have been compromised. In the last few weeks, however, new reporting has revealed that it was Team Trump itself that was tampering with election infrastructure. And their attempts to breach the system went on for months after Trump left office.
The “fraudit” that dragged on last year as the incompetent Cyber Ninjas bumbled around Arizona almost seems like a professional operation compared to these previously undisclosed, under-the-radar efforts undertaken by Trump supporters in other states. Although clumsy, these maneuvers were remarkably nefarious.
For the most part, they were pretty easy to carry out, too.
Biden hits MAGA Republicans hard, threatening to riot in the streets if your guy gets prosecuted IS semi-fascist, the Trump team tampered with elections, and the student loan relief plan may be 3-D chess. Will Saletan joins Amanda Carpenter for the last Summer Monday.
As primary season winds down, Democrats are gaining ground in what was supposed to be a wave year for Republicans. Tim Miller joins Sarah to discuss the anti-abortion extremists endorsed by Trump, how Democrats are making Dobbs a game-changer, and the weirdo theory of politics.
Eric welcomes back Eliot from travels and illness to host John Herbst who was the U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine during the Orange Revolution. They discuss Russia’s imperial past and present, the Biden Administration’s 3 billion dollar military assistance package, the course of the war, the assassination of Darya Dugina, and the prospects for diplomacy and grade the Administration’s efforts to manage the Ukraine crisis.
Bulwark+ members can listen to an ad-free version of these podcasts on the player of their choice. Learn more at Bulwark+ Podcast FAQ.
SHAY KHATIRI: The “Banana Republic” Fallacy.
The FBI’s operation to retrieve classified documents from Mar-a-Lago has prompted many conservatives to express concern that America is becoming a “banana republic.”
We’ve seen this call from “respectable” Wall Street Journal columnist Kimberley Strassel, to banana Senator Marco Rubio, to banana blog the Federalist.
But the United States is not a banana republic for three simple reasons.
🚨OVERTIME 🚨
Happy Monday! Before we go any further, can you guess in which U.S. state somebody has an emotional support alligator? (Hint: It’s not what your first guess likely is.)
Mining has consequences! With the growth of EVs, we need more minerals, and some of them are going to be coming from the ocean. The NYTimes has this cool interactive on the ocean floor and the long-term effects of using it as a source of minerals.
DeSantis accused of stealing Trump’s bit. Too bad he couldn’t have patented the gestures and the cruelty, but Team Trump is mad at their copycat governor.
“J.D. Vance: A stain on the GOP”… argues Plain Dealer writer Brent Larkin.
The House of Lords is bloated… On his way out, Boris Johnson could make it even bigger.
“Don’t Succumb to MAGA Fatalism”… writes our friend Peter Wehner at The Atlantic:
None of us can change the entire world. But each of us can change for the better the world we inhabit. Each of us can “live within the truth” rather than within the lie. We can lean into politics rather than withdraw from it. We can be agents of healing to people whose lives are broken. We can support the institutions that civilize our lives and make democracy possible. And we can speak up for veracity and decency when it matters, including challenging people within our political and cultural tribes, even as we listen well to others. These are not heroic requirements, but they are essential ones. Everything hinges on Americans sending forth ripples of hope.
America is already great…
Bishop Sycamore gets the HBO treatment… The fictional Ohio school that was actually just a football team is going to be must-watch material. How they pulled this off for so long in this day and age.
That’s it for me. Tech support questions? Email members@thebulwark.com. Questions for me? Respond to this message.
—30—
Editorial photos provided by Getty Images. For full credits, please consult the article.