Trump’s COVID Response: A Preview of Disasters to Come
Plus: The Temptation of Power
Recently in The Bulwark:
BILL KRISTOL & ANDREW EGGER: Polio in Every Pot; Smallpox in Every Garage
JOE PERTICONE: MAGA Is Going Into Election-Interference Overdrive 🔐
MARC CAPUTO: Trump Ends Campaign Driven By Ego, Confidence, And a Love of Headfakes
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MARK HERTLING: North Korea and Russia: A Match Made in Hell
SOMETIME DURING THE PREPARATIONS for the invasion of Normandy, Winston Churchill allegedly provided his thoughts on the complexity of alliances: “There is only one thing worse than fighting with allies . . . and that is fighting without them!”
CATHY YOUNG: Trump’s COVID Response: A Preview of Disasters to Come
TRUMP WAS ALREADY PRESIDENT for four years, and we survived. We could do it again—what’s the worst that could happen? So goes the argument from many reluctant Trump supporters and anti-anti-Trumpers who are skeptical that Trump’s deranged rhetoric and nonsensical proposals portend a dark future if he wins re-election. Let’s leave aside, for now, the fact that a second Trump administration would likely have no “adults in the room” (many of the ones who served between 2017 and 2021 are now openly denouncing Trump). Let’s also leave aside the fact that “the worst that could happen” could be the use of mob violence to subvert or dismantle the constitutional system, like what we saw on January 6th, but more organized and with more support from the federal government.
🎥 PODCASTS AND VIDEOS 🎧
Bulwark Podcast with Tim Miller: Adam Kinzinger: All the Little Bros [YouTube]
Bulwark+ Live: Dumpster Fire: Trump Almost Face-Plants in Trash Costume [YouTube]
George Conway Explains it All (to Sarah Longwell): Weirdo Trump Is Incapable of Being Normal [YouTube]
Shield of the Republic: Georgia on My Mind
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PETER C. MEILAENDER: The Temptation of Power
TWO TRADITIONS, THE CLASSICAL AND THE CHRISTIAN, combine to create Western culture. At the head of each stands a martyr. Socrates died for the sake of philosophy, Jesus for the redemption of humanity. Both warned their followers against the corrupting influence of earthly power. In Plato’s Republic, Socrates spends a long evening attempting to persuade his young interlocutors “that justice is better than injustice,” even if it requires forsaking power and success. He would later show that he meant what he said, refusing to escape prison when offered the opportunity and contentedly drinking the hemlock instead.
ANDREW EGGER: MAGA’s Closing Pitch to Voters: Economic Pain and Health Care Sorcery
ERASE EVERYTHING YOU KNOW ABOUT this presidential campaign from your memory and image this.
In the closing days of the election, one party and its leading candidate are promising to inflict economic pain on the electorate; stating that they will turn over the top health agencies to one of the country’s leading vaccine skeptics; and pledging to pursue a disruptive, “massive reform” to the nation’s healthcare system—historically, the sort of move that has proven extremely unpopular.
DANIEL N. GULLOTTA: Witches Are Back. Why?
IN 2011, THE BARNA GROUP, A POLLING FIRM that specializes in surveys related to American Christianity, observed that while church attendance and volunteering were declining overall as part of a broader trend of dechurching, women still continued to participate in religious activities more frequently than men. A larger cultural conversation followed: Throughout the 2010s, observers became focused on the idea of a “men’s crisis” in the church. Books were published with titles like Why Men Hate Going to Church, and think pieces in outlets like the Christian Century grappled with the question: “Why do men stay away?” Solutions were proposed: Bible studies directed only at men, pub churches, outdoor ministries involving camping trips with spiritual themes—the fishers of men becoming, in some cases, men who fished.
🚨OVERTIME🚨
Happy Halloween! I hope if you participate in this tradition, you have a safe, fun, and dry time. Tonight’s Overtime section will be shorter due to the festivities and our abundance of content. May you enjoy Halloween as much as young Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen did.
🎵On the Jukebox…🎵 Eddie 9V - “Saratoga”
Go Dodgers! And congrats to Scott, Michael, and Howard for correctly predicting the Dodgers would defeat the Yankees! It was a three-way tie for first. Each gets a year’s subscription to Bulwark+ and will get some stickers mailed their way. What a game.
Which Watch… Belongs to each politician? (Washingtonian)
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Editorial photos provided by Getty Images. For full credits, please consult the article.