AdvertisementAdvertisementThe Trump administration, acting on the fairly sound logic that its supporters don’t care in any way whatsoever about the civic principle that the government should be scrutinized by a free press, has started to cut down on the number of press conferences it gives that occur on camera. Wednesday, the administration that Thursday’s* press briefing by Sarah Huckabee Sanders would be one such no-video affair, then introduced a Kafka-esque twist by declaring that the announcement itself was “NOT REPORTABLE.”This post will self-destruct in 10 seconds.*Correction, June...…AdvertisementAdvertisementThe Trump administration, acting on the fairly sound logic that its supporters don’t care in any way whatsoever about the civic principle that the government should be scrutinized by a free press, has started to cut down on the number of press conferences it gives that occur on camera. Wednesday, the administration that Thursday’s* press briefing by Sarah Huckabee Sanders would be one such no-video affair, then introduced a Kafka-esque twist by declaring that the announcement itself was “NOT REPORTABLE.”This post will self-destruct in 10 seconds.*Correction, June...WW…

AdvertisementAdvertisement is a subjective and speculative estimate of the likelihood that Donald Trump actually loses the 2020 election, or in other words, that he suffers the consequences of his actions for the first time in his life rather than wriggling out of yet another jam (see: the Mueller investigation, the Ukraine scandal, the 2016 popular vote, his six bankruptcies, and everything else).Donald Trump got some bad polling news last week. No, correct that. He got a lot of last week, to the extent that he’s now trailing Joe Biden by 9.4 points in FiveThirtyEight’s polling...…AdvertisementAdvertisement is a subjective and speculative estimate of the likelihood that Donald Trump actually loses the 2020 election, or in other words, that he suffers the consequences of his actions for the first time in his life rather than wriggling out of yet another jam (see: the Mueller investigation, the Ukraine scandal, the 2016 popular vote, his six bankruptcies, and everything else).Donald Trump got some bad polling news last week. No, correct that. He got a lot of last week, to the extent that he’s now trailing Joe Biden by 9.4 points in FiveThirtyEight’s polling...WW…

AdvertisementAdvertisementOn Monday, Donald Trump at a Chinese American reporter from CBS, Weijia Jiang, for asking him why he kept talking about the coronavirus pandemic as if it were a competition between countries (which the U.S. is, in Trump’s incorrect assessment, winning). He responded that she should “ask China,” which only made sense as a racist taunt, then got more upset when CNN’s Kaitlan Collins waited to ask a question so Jiang could follow up. Then PBS’s Yamiche Alcindor deferred her time back to Collins, which sent Trump completely over the edge—these woman reporters, giving...…AdvertisementAdvertisementOn Monday, Donald Trump at a Chinese American reporter from CBS, Weijia Jiang, for asking him why he kept talking about the coronavirus pandemic as if it were a competition between countries (which the U.S. is, in Trump’s incorrect assessment, winning). He responded that she should “ask China,” which only made sense as a racist taunt, then got more upset when CNN’s Kaitlan Collins waited to ask a question so Jiang could follow up. Then PBS’s Yamiche Alcindor deferred her time back to Collins, which sent Trump completely over the edge—these woman reporters, giving...WW…

AdvertisementAdvertisementOn Wednesday morning Joe Biden published an in USA Today about police violence that reiterated the relatively modest proposals that were already part of his platform before George Floyd was killed, like reinstating Obama-era Department of Justice supervision of rogue departments and spending $300 million (a very small amount, by federal government standards) on “community policing.” Advocates of reform were .This is not necessarily a problem for Biden, who leads Donald Trump by an average of 8 points in recent polls and doesn’t yet have any incentive to jeopardize...…AdvertisementAdvertisementOn Wednesday morning Joe Biden published an in USA Today about police violence that reiterated the relatively modest proposals that were already part of his platform before George Floyd was killed, like reinstating Obama-era Department of Justice supervision of rogue departments and spending $300 million (a very small amount, by federal government standards) on “community policing.” Advocates of reform were .This is not necessarily a problem for Biden, who leads Donald Trump by an average of 8 points in recent polls and doesn’t yet have any incentive to jeopardize...WW…

Donald Trump has been clear, for months, that he does not support the expansion of mail-in voting to accommodate Americans who are apprehensive about voting at crowded indoor locations during a viral pandemic. There are a number of reasons for this:• In general, broader ballot access favors Democrats, who tend to disproportionately live and work in circumstances that make in-person Election Day voting logistically difficult.• Mail-in balloting is supported at the moment for epidemiological reasons by the kinds of public health experts whom Trump has been ignoring and belittling (and blaming...…Donald Trump has been clear, for months, that he does not support the expansion of mail-in voting to accommodate Americans who are apprehensive about voting at crowded indoor locations during a viral pandemic. There are a number of reasons for this:• In general, broader ballot access favors Democrats, who tend to disproportionately live and work in circumstances that make in-person Election Day voting logistically difficult.• Mail-in balloting is supported at the moment for epidemiological reasons by the kinds of public health experts whom Trump has been ignoring and belittling (and blaming...WW…

AdvertisementAdvertisementThe tweet above was posted by a Republican “rapid response” spokesman named Steve Guest on Monday, apparently as a “rapid response” to the Washington NFL team’s that it will no longer use the “Redskins” nickname or logo. Joe Biden’s Facebook page had previously posted the photo attached to the tweet on .Like much MAGA political messaging, the exact meaning of Guest’s post is hard to parse even though its intended effect (insulting Biden) is not. The idea could be, perhaps, that Biden is a hypocrite for supporting the Washington NFL team despite being a member of...…AdvertisementAdvertisementThe tweet above was posted by a Republican “rapid response” spokesman named Steve Guest on Monday, apparently as a “rapid response” to the Washington NFL team’s that it will no longer use the “Redskins” nickname or logo. Joe Biden’s Facebook page had previously posted the photo attached to the tweet on .Like much MAGA political messaging, the exact meaning of Guest’s post is hard to parse even though its intended effect (insulting Biden) is not. The idea could be, perhaps, that Biden is a hypocrite for supporting the Washington NFL team despite being a member of...WW…

AdvertisementAdvertisementNationwide protests over police brutality and racism … an active pandemic … the highest unemployment rate in 80 years … let’s check in on what the president of the country is doing about this stuff!Needless to say, he’s just tweeting. (There were 12 posted messages between 10:15 p.m. Wednesday night and 2:30 p.m. Thursday, including one at 11:38 p.m. and one at 8:49 a.m. Rise and grind!) But what is he tweeting about, and what bearing do his tweets have on potential executive action? Let’s look at four from Thursday morning, which cover the topics the president is...…AdvertisementAdvertisementNationwide protests over police brutality and racism … an active pandemic … the highest unemployment rate in 80 years … let’s check in on what the president of the country is doing about this stuff!Needless to say, he’s just tweeting. (There were 12 posted messages between 10:15 p.m. Wednesday night and 2:30 p.m. Thursday, including one at 11:38 p.m. and one at 8:49 a.m. Rise and grind!) But what is he tweeting about, and what bearing do his tweets have on potential executive action? Let’s look at four from Thursday morning, which cover the topics the president is...WW…

AdvertisementAdvertisementVeepstakes developments!• A Data for Progress published by found that Democratic voters, by a 13-point margin, would prefer that Joe Biden choose Elizabeth Warren over other potential vice presidential nominees. Warren was identified as the potential VP candidate who’s most ready to be president by an even wider margin of 27 percent.• A CBS also found that Democratic voters, this time by a 17-point margin, would prefer that Biden choose Warren over other potential vice presidential nominees. Warren was the top choice of subgroups consisting of black Democratic...…AdvertisementAdvertisementVeepstakes developments!• A Data for Progress published by found that Democratic voters, by a 13-point margin, would prefer that Joe Biden choose Elizabeth Warren over other potential vice presidential nominees. Warren was identified as the potential VP candidate who’s most ready to be president by an even wider margin of 27 percent.• A CBS also found that Democratic voters, this time by a 17-point margin, would prefer that Biden choose Warren over other potential vice presidential nominees. Warren was the top choice of subgroups consisting of black Democratic...WW…

AdvertisementAdvertisementThe hopeful period during which Donald Trump was taking the advice of public health professionals appears to be over. Sunday night, he tweeted this:WE CANNOT LET THE CURE BE WORSE THAN THE PROBLEM ITSELF. AT THE END OF THE 15 DAY PERIOD, WE WILL MAKE A DECISION AS TO WHICH WAY WE WANT TO GO!— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump)AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementMonday morning, he (or his approved social media henchmen) retweeted several sycophantic MAGA accounts that were repeating talking points about getting the country “” at the end of a 15-day...…AdvertisementAdvertisementThe hopeful period during which Donald Trump was taking the advice of public health professionals appears to be over. Sunday night, he tweeted this:WE CANNOT LET THE CURE BE WORSE THAN THE PROBLEM ITSELF. AT THE END OF THE 15 DAY PERIOD, WE WILL MAKE A DECISION AS TO WHICH WAY WE WANT TO GO!— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump)AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementMonday morning, he (or his approved social media henchmen) retweeted several sycophantic MAGA accounts that were repeating talking points about getting the country “” at the end of a 15-day...WW…

AdvertisementAdvertisementDoing nothing keeps working for the Democratic Party. It worked in early 2017, when women’s marches led by activists and local grassroots groups prefigured a 2018 wave election highlighted by first-time female candidates. It worked for Joe Biden during the most intense weeks of the coronavirus crisis, when he made limited, online-only public appearances but gained in polls against Donald Trump anyway as the president demonstrated daily that he couldn’t understand or manage the threat of COVID-19 and speculated about the merits of injecting oneself with...…AdvertisementAdvertisementDoing nothing keeps working for the Democratic Party. It worked in early 2017, when women’s marches led by activists and local grassroots groups prefigured a 2018 wave election highlighted by first-time female candidates. It worked for Joe Biden during the most intense weeks of the coronavirus crisis, when he made limited, online-only public appearances but gained in polls against Donald Trump anyway as the president demonstrated daily that he couldn’t understand or manage the threat of COVID-19 and speculated about the merits of injecting oneself with...WW…