The Paradox of Trumpist Patriotism
Joshua Tait: Claiming to love America while believing that it is broken and that many of your fellow citizens are your enemies.
Leading The Bulwark…
The Paradox of Trumpist Patriotism
JOSHUA TAIT: Claiming to love America while believing that it is broken and that many of your fellow citizens are your enemies.
🎧 On the Pods… 🎧
Culture Wars and Voting Rights
Guest hosts Bill Kristol and Mona Charen on the history/culture wars on voting rights, patriotism, and good TV.
For Bulwark+ Members… 🔐
THE TRIAD: If We're Doomed, Then Why Bother? 🔐
JVL: The pessimist’s case for fighting.
THE TRIAD: The Country We Deserve 🔐
JVL: It's not the past that should worry us this Fourth. It's the future.
From The Bulwark Aggregator…
New Jersey man’s racist rant dared neighbor to ‘come see me.’ On Monday, dozens did. – Jonathan Lai and Melanie Burney, The Philadelphia Inquirer
We Still Won’t Admit Why So Many People Believe the Big Lie – David Rothkopf, The Daily Beast
The Pandemic Did Not Affect Mental Health the Way You Think – Lara Aknin, Jamil Zaki, and Elizabeth Dunn, The Atlantic
How REvil Ransomware Took Out Thousands of Business at Once – Lily Hay Newman, WIRED
Aging Condos Are a ‘Ticking Time Bomb’ And Need More Oversight – Peter Coy, Bloomberg Businessweek
Biden’s new dilemma: How to slash housing costs for low-income borrowers – Katy O'Donnell, Politico
For judges, Biden’s actions are a split decision – Joe Davidson, The Washington Post
In Today’s Bulwark...
Do Not Forget Afghanistan
WILL SELBER: As the U.S. departure looms, we must honor our troops’ service and sacrifice—and the Afghan allies who stood by us at a terrible cost.
Do They Really Believe The Lies?
SHAY KHATIRI: Tell a lie often enough and you start to believe it.
To Be an American
LINDA CHAVEZ: This July Fourth, let’s remember the immigrants who were drawn to this country’s promise of liberty and who have contributed to its greatness.
The Press and the Process Question
BRIAN KAREM: How White House briefings have changed since the full press corps has been allowed in—and how they still need to improve.
🚨OVERTIME 🚨
I hope you had a happy 4th! Mine was spent driving, mostly, but at least after the fireworks and the kids went down, I got to enjoy a nice cigar and a Michelob Golden Light on the deck before hitting the hay.
I’ve invented a new shaming game… After getting back to the D.C. region this weekend, I stopped at Food Lion yesterday. Outside, smoking a cigarette with a Trump hat and a Trump t-shirt was an elderly man. I asked him: Are you excited for August? (When Trump is supposed to reassume office.) He was.
“It’s not gonna happen.” I said and then went in to go shopping. At this point, the people who are wearing *multiple* articles of Trump clothing are almost 100% election truthers or members of QAnon. It is our responsibility to try and tether them to reality again. Shame works. Do I feel bad about this? Not at all. You, too, can play this game.
“Josh Hawley does suck!” In that same vein, I was wearing a t-shirt from RayGun that simply reads: JOSH HAWLEY SUCKS. We were at a McDonald’s in Washington, PA. Next door was a Taco Bell, and as I was attending to one of my twin daughters, a guy rolls down his window from the drive thru and yells: “JOSH HAWLEY DOES SUCK!” I walked towards him, and he wanted to know where he could get that t-shirt. Answer: here. Now, if they could only make one for Josh Mandel, I’d buy that, too.
J.D. Vance in 1984… You can’t make this up.
Can we talk about Brett Phillips? The Tribe has been on a losing streak lately, but this will make your day.
Millennials, influencers, and commerce. A must read at The New Yorker about how Instagram is changing the way the youths buy things.
Will the GOP be there to #StopTheSteal in 2024? And I’m talking about Trump’s attempt to steal the election.
Six Months after the Insurrection… Here’s James Carville, and he’s 100% right:
Farewell, Doc Emrick… You will be missed.
How robots have changed grocery delivery. Behold:
China is bad. And something needs to be done about this, because it’s insane.
That’s it for me for today. We’ll see you back here tomorrow. Tech support questions? Email support@substack.com. Questions for me? Drop me a line: swift@thebulwark.com
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Editorial photos provided by Getty Images. For full credits, please consult the article.