Good newsletter, but I think The Bulwark writers (and I include JVL in this) are missing two important angles lately.
1. IF (that's a big if...read #2 below) Trump cares about popularity, he's front-loading his administration with the highly unpopular stuff. Remember when Biden didn't push back the Trump-negotiated timeline to withdraw from Afghanistan? It was year one of his term and the general take at The Bulwark was that is was going to be a huge drain on his approval rating no matter how well it was done, but at least Biden did it right up front so he had time to recover before the midterms, etc. Maybe I've missed it - tough keeping up with all TB content these days - but I haven't seen or read a single comparison of that strategy to all the deeply unpopular and likely illegal stuff Trump is also doing right up front. He'll have three years to throw candy to the masses.
2. TB writers - ok mostly JVL - have devoted a lot of time to wondering why people with "fork you money" would capitulate to Trump. It's not about money. What Trump has within his grasp right now is "fork you power." Don't like my policies? Fork you, we're doing them anyway. Going to vote out the Rs in the midterms? Fork you, I'll go so fast in the first two years that it won't matter if you elect 435 clones of AOC in '26. Having regrets about voting for me and telling the pollsters about it? Fork you, I'm going to get SCOTUS to bend to my will like the legislative branch already has, and you'll never have to regret your vote in a Presidential again.
"Fork you power" is what every authoritarian aspires to. And it's alarmingly close.
"It took a good week-plus but we finally have our first signal that anyone is going to rein in the DOGE Bros. NBC reports: Attorneys for the Justice Department have agreed to temporarily restrict staffers associated with Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency from accessing information in the Treasury Department’s payment system."
This is a week too late - totally meaningless. THEY HAVE THE DATA - do you really think they haven't already made 10 copies and have given it to 'who-ever'.
When is the world going to accept the reality that Trump is mentally ill. Look up the definition of
NARCISSISTIC PERSONALITY DISORDER , especially from the Mayo Clinic for one perfect connection. When is the press going to report this out loud and repeatedly????
ps: in a recent talk with a psychology professional, the word "malignant" was added to the definition.
With all due respect, I think Musk’s unpopularity is beside the point. This is full press Orbanization. Do a bunch of illegal things really quickly to create facts on the ground before the legal system or opposition can catch up. Obviously Doge is not about saving money, it’s about purging the institutions so that Trump can replace them with loyalists. Once Doge has done its job, Musk can disappear, solving the problem of his unpopularity, but leaving in place the damage/transformation of the institutions.
Never thought i would enjoy hanging out with conservatives (lifelong Dem), but these days I'd rather be with Bulwark folks than anywhere else. I have some policy differences, but our fundamental values are the same: adherence to rule of law, commitment to our Constitutional government and to our political freedoms enshrined in the Bill of Rights. And above all, integrity and pursuit of the truth. An island of sanity in today's ever expanding ocean of crazy.
RE "More orders like this are hopefully to come soon. The question is whether they’re coming too late."
My gut feeling is that it is too late. An article in The Contrarian by Kim Lane Scheppele, "All the Government's Data" left me feeling it was pretty likely all US government data has already been downloaded to Musk servers to be used to enrich himself and harass or punish those he dislikes.
Loved this post! It gives me hope that reasonable people on both sides of the political can come together to save our country and move on from this Trump era. Easier said than done, but it'll never get done if we don't get it started...and Bulwark is an example of a great start to the new era.
Democrats on the Senate Intelligence Committee need to put the heat on Tom Cotton. That someone who is an inherent security risk, e.g., significant personal business interests in China, and aided by a motley collection of loosely vetted (if at all) near teenagers should be given the keys to some of the most sensitive digital infrastructure in government is insane. You can bet that Russia and China are working overtime to penetrate that operation.
1.) Carrasco started her list at 0, not one, because like many behavioral scientists nowadays, she thinks in code. Probably Python, R, or both.
2.) We need to realize that Trump is not going to be tricked or manipulated into firing his foul advisors. Not a single one. Not this time.
To those speculating about him getting rid of Elon, or getting rid of Bannon, or getting rid of Hegseth, Vought, Patel, etc., the answer is that you need to quit daydreaming.
Trump is not "loyal", necessarily, to any of them, nor does he think they're all on the "same page", beyond loyalty to him. But neither is he going to defenestrate them when they get too evil or tyrannical, a la Stalin. He believes doing so is a surrender to his enemies and makes him look "weak", and to an extent, he's right. He finds all of his varied, feuding advisors useful, in different ways.
Trump, as a leader, fundamentally believes in playing subordinates off against each other and having them "compete" for his favor. He issues intentionally vague, yet maximally extreme orders, mostly verbally (with written executive orders as a sop to the American convention of "law" and "constitutionality), and sits back and watches as underlings with overlapping authority climb over each other, so that the "stronger one" can do the job.
That necessarily results in backbiting, backstabbing, and chaos, but it's all in service of a larger plan of destruction. And as we're seeing, it works in that aim.
Liberals need to ditch the fantasy of thinking 4-dimensional-chessing these guys into knifing each other will help out the cause of democracy. All of these guys need to be opposed equally. Bannon, Elon, Hegseth, Gabbard, Vought, Wiles, Rubio--All of them. The works. One and all.
They're all what the Founders reviled, no matter their competition with each other. Never forget that.
We all must ignore the Gaza distraction and focus 100 percent on Musks digital take over/destruction of our institutions. Letting Trump control the narrative is what gets America in trouble. Courts, lawsuits, filing complaints, raising awareness, etc...those must be the priorities.
So true. De-legitimizing Elon and the path he has taken to power is Job 1. If this is done smartly, Trump himself will be the one to defenestrate this man-child. The one righteous facet of "populism" to employ now is the instinct to detest higher life form types who exude smarter than thou-ness. It amazes me how successfully Elon and other would-be oligarchs have managed to channel this instinct against only left-leaning smarter than thous. Let's get smarter than they!
you know what's fucking weird - i don't know if this is parody. I also know that this one time at work I tried to write a parody - and i talked about something I would NEVER EVER do - and lots of people still gt confused... so.... yeah. i dunno.
And he’s going to buy Tik Tok and we’re all going to be the subjects of a monarchy.
Good newsletter, but I think The Bulwark writers (and I include JVL in this) are missing two important angles lately.
1. IF (that's a big if...read #2 below) Trump cares about popularity, he's front-loading his administration with the highly unpopular stuff. Remember when Biden didn't push back the Trump-negotiated timeline to withdraw from Afghanistan? It was year one of his term and the general take at The Bulwark was that is was going to be a huge drain on his approval rating no matter how well it was done, but at least Biden did it right up front so he had time to recover before the midterms, etc. Maybe I've missed it - tough keeping up with all TB content these days - but I haven't seen or read a single comparison of that strategy to all the deeply unpopular and likely illegal stuff Trump is also doing right up front. He'll have three years to throw candy to the masses.
2. TB writers - ok mostly JVL - have devoted a lot of time to wondering why people with "fork you money" would capitulate to Trump. It's not about money. What Trump has within his grasp right now is "fork you power." Don't like my policies? Fork you, we're doing them anyway. Going to vote out the Rs in the midterms? Fork you, I'll go so fast in the first two years that it won't matter if you elect 435 clones of AOC in '26. Having regrets about voting for me and telling the pollsters about it? Fork you, I'm going to get SCOTUS to bend to my will like the legislative branch already has, and you'll never have to regret your vote in a Presidential again.
"Fork you power" is what every authoritarian aspires to. And it's alarmingly close.
"It took a good week-plus but we finally have our first signal that anyone is going to rein in the DOGE Bros. NBC reports: Attorneys for the Justice Department have agreed to temporarily restrict staffers associated with Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency from accessing information in the Treasury Department’s payment system."
This is a week too late - totally meaningless. THEY HAVE THE DATA - do you really think they haven't already made 10 copies and have given it to 'who-ever'.
When is the world going to accept the reality that Trump is mentally ill. Look up the definition of
NARCISSISTIC PERSONALITY DISORDER , especially from the Mayo Clinic for one perfect connection. When is the press going to report this out loud and repeatedly????
ps: in a recent talk with a psychology professional, the word "malignant" was added to the definition.
Well, MAGA hate Elmo too, so fingers crossed.
There should be enough pieces to give one to each of his kids, especially the ones who have never met him.
Bill Kristol, I look forward to your missive every morning. But this one was extra wonderful. Thank you for the smiles amidst the bleakness.
With all due respect, I think Musk’s unpopularity is beside the point. This is full press Orbanization. Do a bunch of illegal things really quickly to create facts on the ground before the legal system or opposition can catch up. Obviously Doge is not about saving money, it’s about purging the institutions so that Trump can replace them with loyalists. Once Doge has done its job, Musk can disappear, solving the problem of his unpopularity, but leaving in place the damage/transformation of the institutions.
Who else is now obsessed with the idea of reading Le Petit Prince, but as written by Machiavelli? Just me? Okay then.
Love the 2:00 am transcript!
But my money is on Vance + Musk offing Trump first.
Wonderful humor by Bill Kristol!
Never thought i would enjoy hanging out with conservatives (lifelong Dem), but these days I'd rather be with Bulwark folks than anywhere else. I have some policy differences, but our fundamental values are the same: adherence to rule of law, commitment to our Constitutional government and to our political freedoms enshrined in the Bill of Rights. And above all, integrity and pursuit of the truth. An island of sanity in today's ever expanding ocean of crazy.
RE "More orders like this are hopefully to come soon. The question is whether they’re coming too late."
My gut feeling is that it is too late. An article in The Contrarian by Kim Lane Scheppele, "All the Government's Data" left me feeling it was pretty likely all US government data has already been downloaded to Musk servers to be used to enrich himself and harass or punish those he dislikes.
Same!! And I’m gonna check out the contrarian article you mentioned.
Loved this post! It gives me hope that reasonable people on both sides of the political can come together to save our country and move on from this Trump era. Easier said than done, but it'll never get done if we don't get it started...and Bulwark is an example of a great start to the new era.
Love it. Good work, guys. Made me chuckle.
Democrats on the Senate Intelligence Committee need to put the heat on Tom Cotton. That someone who is an inherent security risk, e.g., significant personal business interests in China, and aided by a motley collection of loosely vetted (if at all) near teenagers should be given the keys to some of the most sensitive digital infrastructure in government is insane. You can bet that Russia and China are working overtime to penetrate that operation.
Thoughts:
1.) Carrasco started her list at 0, not one, because like many behavioral scientists nowadays, she thinks in code. Probably Python, R, or both.
2.) We need to realize that Trump is not going to be tricked or manipulated into firing his foul advisors. Not a single one. Not this time.
To those speculating about him getting rid of Elon, or getting rid of Bannon, or getting rid of Hegseth, Vought, Patel, etc., the answer is that you need to quit daydreaming.
Trump is not "loyal", necessarily, to any of them, nor does he think they're all on the "same page", beyond loyalty to him. But neither is he going to defenestrate them when they get too evil or tyrannical, a la Stalin. He believes doing so is a surrender to his enemies and makes him look "weak", and to an extent, he's right. He finds all of his varied, feuding advisors useful, in different ways.
Trump, as a leader, fundamentally believes in playing subordinates off against each other and having them "compete" for his favor. He issues intentionally vague, yet maximally extreme orders, mostly verbally (with written executive orders as a sop to the American convention of "law" and "constitutionality), and sits back and watches as underlings with overlapping authority climb over each other, so that the "stronger one" can do the job.
That necessarily results in backbiting, backstabbing, and chaos, but it's all in service of a larger plan of destruction. And as we're seeing, it works in that aim.
Liberals need to ditch the fantasy of thinking 4-dimensional-chessing these guys into knifing each other will help out the cause of democracy. All of these guys need to be opposed equally. Bannon, Elon, Hegseth, Gabbard, Vought, Wiles, Rubio--All of them. The works. One and all.
They're all what the Founders reviled, no matter their competition with each other. Never forget that.
+1000
Has Elon ever had someone write real person fanfic as a snarky comeback?
We all must ignore the Gaza distraction and focus 100 percent on Musks digital take over/destruction of our institutions. Letting Trump control the narrative is what gets America in trouble. Courts, lawsuits, filing complaints, raising awareness, etc...those must be the priorities.
So true. De-legitimizing Elon and the path he has taken to power is Job 1. If this is done smartly, Trump himself will be the one to defenestrate this man-child. The one righteous facet of "populism" to employ now is the instinct to detest higher life form types who exude smarter than thou-ness. It amazes me how successfully Elon and other would-be oligarchs have managed to channel this instinct against only left-leaning smarter than thous. Let's get smarter than they!
you know what's fucking weird - i don't know if this is parody. I also know that this one time at work I tried to write a parody - and i talked about something I would NEVER EVER do - and lots of people still gt confused... so.... yeah. i dunno.