Donald Trump
Orbanization, American Style
A “Stop Terror-Financing” bill that has passed in the U.S. House of Representatives has raised red flags for its similarity to “foreign agent” laws — a cornerstone of repression in Putin’s Russia and Orban’s Hungary. But with the incoming Trump administration, the bill has a good chance of becoming law.
Populism on the Marx
For at least a generation, the American left has largely abandoned issues of class to focus on race. What if that’s the wrong strategy?
Trump’s Alleged Would-Be Assassin and His Syrian Rebel Scheme for Ukraine
I got in touch with Ryan Routh through one of the posters he had spread around town in Kyiv. I was a reporter there and had noticed his posters and the Syrian flag and was curious what it was about. When we spoke on the phone, he did not beat around the bush. He claimed to have over 200 Syrian military men who were ready to go to Ukraine and fight the Russians. He just needed help bringing them to Ukraine.
The Mass Psychology of Trumpism
In the eyes of his supporters, Trump possesses extraordinary powers that are wielded for good and against evil. Who cares if he is flawed? So what if he lacks certain distinctively human qualities? What does it matter that he is rude, authoritarian or even a criminal?
The Meaning of the Midterms — with Robert Evans
“The thing that we couldn't have known was the degree to which voters were going to react against the power grabs that the right has made. And I'm happy to say that it does look like that's one of the stories from last night.”
Deciphering the Deep State — with Josef Burton
“I think we are in this moment, though, where things are kind of breaking loose; they're becoming unmoored. There's this sort of terror that everyone's living inside their own universe, in their own reality, and their own kind of construction. There's not a lot of analytical frameworks out there that are shared or even systematic.”
The Spectacle of Trump’s Unsuccess
That America’s first authoritarian commander-in-chief appears to be going out as “Richard III” directed by Corky St. Clair is a relief, but it’s also a testament to just how nourished Trump has been by the mere spectacle of success more than the thing itself.