In the winter of 2016, Donald Trump was roaring through the primaries, and Mike Pompeo was determined to stop him. Pompeo, a little-known congressman from Wichita, helped persuade Marco Rubio to make a late stand in Kansas. Like many Republicans in Congress, Pompeo believed that Rubio had the national-security knowledge and the judgment to be President, and Trump did not. Urged on by Pompeo, Rubio’s team pulled money out of other states to gamble on winning the Kansas caucus. It was one of the few remaining contests in which Rubio still hoped to beat Trump, who, he said, was a “con artist”...…In the winter of 2016, Donald Trump was roaring through the primaries, and Mike Pompeo was determined to stop him. Pompeo, a little-known congressman from Wichita, helped persuade Marco Rubio to make a late stand in Kansas. Like many Republicans in Congress, Pompeo believed that Rubio had the national-security knowledge and the judgment to be President, and Trump did not. Urged on by Pompeo, Rubio’s team pulled money out of other states to gamble on winning the Kansas caucus. It was one of the few remaining contests in which Rubio still hoped to beat Trump, who, he said, was a “con artist”...WW…

Fifty-one days into his Presidency, on the first anniversary of our collective quarantine, pivoted to optimism. He spoke of “finding light in the darkness,” vaccines for everyone by the end of May, and a country open for barbecues by the Fourth of July. That certainly counts as an upbeat message in the midst of the , although it was appropriately accompanied by the expressions of concern and communal grief at which this new President so excels. Good news is a lot easier than bad to deliver.For much of his short time in office, Biden has stuck to the sober facts of the COVID-19 crisis that...…Fifty-one days into his Presidency, on the first anniversary of our collective quarantine, pivoted to optimism. He spoke of “finding light in the darkness,” vaccines for everyone by the end of May, and a country open for barbecues by the Fourth of July. That certainly counts as an upbeat message in the midst of the , although it was appropriately accompanied by the expressions of concern and communal grief at which this new President so excels. Good news is a lot easier than bad to deliver.For much of his short time in office, Biden has stuck to the sober facts of the COVID-19 crisis that...WW…

Donald Trump made numerous outrageous but not necessarily consequential decisions throughout his Presidency: awarding Rush Limbaugh and Jim Jordan the Medal of Freedom, say, or trying to get rid of the iconic blue-and-white paint job on Air Force One. His endless hiring and firing of staff resulted in his Administration having the highest turnover of senior jobs that anyone can remember. But it did not make as much of a difference as it might have, in the sense that created a White House so devoid of process and normal policy deliberation that he largely fulfilled his goal of being “the...…Donald Trump made numerous outrageous but not necessarily consequential decisions throughout his Presidency: awarding Rush Limbaugh and Jim Jordan the Medal of Freedom, say, or trying to get rid of the iconic blue-and-white paint job on Air Force One. His endless hiring and firing of staff resulted in his Administration having the highest turnover of senior jobs that anyone can remember. But it did not make as much of a difference as it might have, in the sense that created a White House so devoid of process and normal policy deliberation that he largely fulfilled his goal of being “the...WW…

This time was no different. At least not for the vast majority of Republicans in the House of Representatives. Never mind the deadly rampage of the pro-Trump mob that endangered their own lives, and the President’s direct role in setting that mob loose on the Capitol. When the House of Representatives returned to the scene of the crime on Wednesday, for the first-ever second impeachment of a President, the result was drearily predictable: Democrats supported it and, with a few exceptions, Republicans didn’t.And so the second impeachment of Donald John Trump, just like his first impeachment,...…This time was no different. At least not for the vast majority of Republicans in the House of Representatives. Never mind the deadly rampage of the pro-Trump mob that endangered their own lives, and the President’s direct role in setting that mob loose on the Capitol. When the House of Representatives returned to the scene of the crime on Wednesday, for the first-ever second impeachment of a President, the result was drearily predictable: Democrats supported it and, with a few exceptions, Republicans didn’t.And so the second impeachment of Donald John Trump, just like his first impeachment,...WW…

In the six weeks since the Presidential election, various theories—many of them persuasive—have been advanced to explain ’s refusal to accept ’s victory. Trump’s decision to attack the legitimacy of the election has been seen, correctly, as an attack on democracy itself, and as a purposeful and brutally effective use of disinformation. And also as the behavior of a would-be dictator who is dragging an entire political party into a fever dream of denialism. Trump’s protracted post-election fit has been analyzed as preparation for a comeback bid in 2024 and as a fund-raising scam that has...…In the six weeks since the Presidential election, various theories—many of them persuasive—have been advanced to explain ’s refusal to accept ’s victory. Trump’s decision to attack the legitimacy of the election has been seen, correctly, as an attack on democracy itself, and as a purposeful and brutally effective use of disinformation. And also as the behavior of a would-be dictator who is dragging an entire political party into a fever dream of denialism. Trump’s protracted post-election fit has been analyzed as preparation for a comeback bid in 2024 and as a fund-raising scam that has...WW…

Ever since Saturday morning, when was declared the winner of the 2020 Presidential election, has been hunkered down in the White House, refusing to concede defeat, raising money for an “election-defense task force,” and pushing vague conspiracy theories about voter fraud to his millions of followers. That part we expected. What was not entirely clear in advance was how Republicans, when faced with decisive results pointing to Biden’s victory in every single one of the remaining battleground states, would choose to respond. It turns out they have reacted as they have to virtually all of...…Ever since Saturday morning, when was declared the winner of the 2020 Presidential election, has been hunkered down in the White House, refusing to concede defeat, raising money for an “election-defense task force,” and pushing vague conspiracy theories about voter fraud to his millions of followers. That part we expected. What was not entirely clear in advance was how Republicans, when faced with decisive results pointing to Biden’s victory in every single one of the remaining battleground states, would choose to respond. It turns out they have reacted as they have to virtually all of...WW…

In April, as the country’s outbreak surged, mocked filibustering skills, presenting himself as a teller of tough truths compared with his slippery Vice-President. “That’s one of the greatest answers I’ve ever heard, because Mike was able to speak for five minutes and not even touch your question,” Trump said in after Pence avoided answering a reporter. “I said, that’s what you call a great professional.” Throughout Wednesday night’s debate, Trump’s version of Pence was fully on display, as the Vice-President ducked questions and outright refused to answer them for much of the ninety...…In April, as the country’s outbreak surged, mocked filibustering skills, presenting himself as a teller of tough truths compared with his slippery Vice-President. “That’s one of the greatest answers I’ve ever heard, because Mike was able to speak for five minutes and not even touch your question,” Trump said in after Pence avoided answering a reporter. “I said, that’s what you call a great professional.” Throughout Wednesday night’s debate, Trump’s version of Pence was fully on display, as the Vice-President ducked questions and outright refused to answer them for much of the ninety...WW…

Crises clarify. The bigger the crisis, the more the clarity, which is why the incompetence, dishonesty, and sheer callousness of the Presidency have been clearer in recent days than ever before. As the , as of Wednesday an official pandemic, spreads, the lives of Americans depend on the decisions made—or not made, as the case may be—by a President uniquely ill-suited to command in this type of public-health catastrophe. In that sense, the last few weeks may well have been the most clarifying of Donald Trump’s Presidency.In a prime-time address to the nation on Wednesday night, Trump...…Crises clarify. The bigger the crisis, the more the clarity, which is why the incompetence, dishonesty, and sheer callousness of the Presidency have been clearer in recent days than ever before. As the , as of Wednesday an official pandemic, spreads, the lives of Americans depend on the decisions made—or not made, as the case may be—by a President uniquely ill-suited to command in this type of public-health catastrophe. In that sense, the last few weeks may well have been the most clarifying of Donald Trump’s Presidency.In a prime-time address to the nation on Wednesday night, Trump...WW…

On Saturday, March 21st, while was tweeting about the “Chinese virus” and for the “great job we’ve done,” Eric Ries received a phone call from another Silicon Valley C.E.O. His friend Jeff Lawson, of the firm Twilio, told Ries that, to deal with the rapidly escalating , the White House was recruiting tech executives to help. Ries—the founder and C.E.O. of a new company, the Long-Term Stock Exchange, and the author of a best-selling book, “,” which had made him a well-known figure in the Valley—was an obvious choice for someone looking to stand up a high-tech solution to the disaster...…On Saturday, March 21st, while was tweeting about the “Chinese virus” and for the “great job we’ve done,” Eric Ries received a phone call from another Silicon Valley C.E.O. His friend Jeff Lawson, of the firm Twilio, told Ries that, to deal with the rapidly escalating , the White House was recruiting tech executives to help. Ries—the founder and C.E.O. of a new company, the Long-Term Stock Exchange, and the author of a best-selling book, “,” which had made him a well-known figure in the Valley—was an obvious choice for someone looking to stand up a high-tech solution to the disaster...WW…

A couple of months ago, in the early days of the Great Shutdown, Republicans complained that Democrats’ impeachment of had distracted the President from taking more aggressive action to counter the spread of the . Trump’s Senate trial, they pointed out, began in January, just as COVID-19 was making its way out of China and the President was receiving his first briefings about it. “I think it diverted the attention of the government because everything every day was all about impeachment,” the Senate Majority Leader, Mitch McConnell, told the radio host Hugh Hewitt in late March. Trump, when...…A couple of months ago, in the early days of the Great Shutdown, Republicans complained that Democrats’ impeachment of had distracted the President from taking more aggressive action to counter the spread of the . Trump’s Senate trial, they pointed out, began in January, just as COVID-19 was making its way out of China and the President was receiving his first briefings about it. “I think it diverted the attention of the government because everything every day was all about impeachment,” the Senate Majority Leader, Mitch McConnell, told the radio host Hugh Hewitt in late March. Trump, when...WW…