“The U.S. could soon have two aircraft carriers in the eastern Mediterranean, a move that would mark a major escalation in U.S. military power in the region as fighting intensifies between Israeli forces and Hamas militants,” Politico reports.
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Recent Posts
Trump’s Modus Operandi
Jonathan Last: “He promises his base crazy shit. He then announces that he’s about to do the crazy shit. The media freaks out at the prospect of said crazy shit….
Tariff Threat Is Straight From Trump’s Playbook
Bloomberg: “In a gambit familiar to adversaries and allies alike, Trump said in a social media post Monday evening he would slap 25% tariffs on imports from Mexico and Canada…
Trump Got More Votes Than He Did Four Years Ago
“It’s a daunting reality for Democrats: Republican Donald Trump’s support has grown broadly since he last sought the presidency,” the AP reports. “In his defeat of Democrat Kamala Harris, Trump…
Trump Finally Signs Transition Agreement
“President-elect Donald Trump on Tuesday reached a required agreement with President Joe Biden’s White House to allow his transition staff to coordinate with the existing federal workforce before taking office…
A Team of Skeptics
“Donald Trump entered the White House eight years ago with a Cabinet full of traditional conservative credentials, tapping some people he barely knew to help him learn his way around…
Expect Higher Prices on Fruits and Vegetables
“The U.S. imports approximately 60% of its fresh fruit and 40% of its fresh vegetables,” NBC News reports. “And among the countries of origin for those products, Mexico is the…
Trump Picks Kevin Hassett as Top Economic Adviser
“President-elect Donald Trump is said to have selected Kevin Hassett to lead the National Economic Council, a role spearheading the new administration’s tax, trade and spending agenda,” Bloomberg reports. “A…
Two Trump Insiders Jockey for Intelligence Post
“Two Trump transition insiders, Cliff Sims and Kash Patel, are angling to be deputy director of the CIA — and angering others who feel they’re using their roles on the…
A More Chaotic Transition Than the Last Time
Tara Palmeri: “The breakneck speed with which Donald Trump filled out his cabinet may have looked deliberate, but I’ve learned that the process was even more freewheeling, complicated, and downright…
The Democrats’ Billionaire Mistake
Caitlin Flanagan: “The minute it became clear that Harris had lost, reporters and panelists began offering explanations—explanations so obvious that you had to wonder why they hadn’t seen the loss…
The Fight Against Misinformation Got Much Harder
Financial Times: “The incoming Trump administration’s vow to dismantle the leftwing ‘censorship cartel’ has thrown a shadow over the cottage industry of academics, non-profits and researchers that sprang up to…
A Guide for the Politically Homeless
Eliot Cohen: “Those of us who first became politically homeless in 2016 have lately been in a quandary: We need to figure out who we are. If we are not…
Trump Is a Weakling and That’s the Problem
Timothy Noah: “The pithiest summary of Donald Trump’s last presidency was by the comedian John Mulaney. He compared it to a horse being set loose in a hospital.” Said Mulaney:…
Will Kamala Harris Run Again?
Jonathan Bernstein: “Of course normal people want nothing to do with the 2028 election, and won’t until a long time from now. Even most primary voters, who are already a…
Trump Will Grant Sweeping Security Clearances
“Donald Trump’s transition team is planning for all cabinet picks to receive sweeping security clearances from the president-elect and only face FBI background checks after the incoming administration takes over…
Senate Democrats Won’t Put Up Much of a Fight
“Senate Democrats don’t sound like they’re gearing up for a repeat of the ‘hell no’ approach to Donald Trump’s Cabinet picks that they adopted during his first term,” Semafor reports….
Bonus Quote of the Day
“If you voted for Trump because you thought he was going to bring grocery prices down, I have some very bad news for you.” — Catherine Rampell, on CNN. Save…
Donald Trump Gets Away With It
David Graham: “Trump pulled off this legal trick with a simple and effective strategy of running down the clock until being reelected president. Traditionally, defendants have had two ways to…
They Showed Their Loyalty to Trump
President-elect Donald Trump has now picked more than a dozen political operatives, lawyers and elected officials who attended his criminal trial for key roles, the New York Times reports. Save…
Limits on Presidential Criminality Are Unclear
Charlie Savage: “The end of the two federal criminal cases against President-elect Donald Trump on Monday left momentous, unsettled questions about constraints on criminal wrongdoing by presidents, from the scope…