Trump Gaza
Lots of disgusting stuff happened this week. But I’d like to start with a video Trump posted on his Truth Social thing:
Okay. I’m confused by this. It’s hilarious and ridiculous, but is it comedy? Or is he trolling the Sanity Caucus? Or is he…serious? I’d really like to know because I’m having trouble getting a handle on where Trump stands on the sane/bonkers spectrum. I mean, is he nuts or just malicious? The tsunami of chaos continues apace. Our long-standing international commitment to health care is gutted at USAID, a despicable act. Our long-standing domestic commitment to vaccines is gutted by Bobby Kennedy, an act of idiot masochism. I’m worried that the measles rampaging through the Mennonite community in Texas will jump to the general population. Trump demeans the sobriety of the presidency by launching on Zelensky in the Oval Office. What a boor. And Vance, who provoked the confrontation, too.
Another big thing: I’m reading Walter Isaacson’s biography of Elon Musk, which some have criticized as too friendly. Perhaps, but it is a remarkably detailed portrait of a man with Asperger’s or some other spectrum disorder whose brain can focus at genius level on problems of engineering and physics and efficiency, but is deficient when it comes to interactions with his wives and the people who work for him. He can handle mathematical abstractions up the wazoo but is clueless when it comes to social signals. At the very least, his brain works the exact opposite of a government employee’s. He and his chainsaw are crude and insensitive when it comes to building cars and rockets, but remarkably effective. Government is only remarkably effective when it comes to sending out Social Security and Medicare; it is slow and spotty and sometimes infuriating when it comes to many other things. We need to give Musk his due if we’re going to figure out how to deal with him. The interaction between Don and Elon is flat-out fascinating. And extremely dangerous. (And by the way, those Dems like Marcy Kaptur slagging Musk for being a South African immigrant: this guy is about as all-American an entrepreneur, for good or ill, as you can get.)
Again, I was an utter fanboy for the Reinventing Government project during the Clinton years. I’ve been hoping for a resurrection of something like that, led by Philip K. Howard who has written brilliantly on these topics for years (or by Elaine Kamarck of Brookings, who led the original Reinventing Government project for Al Gore). The Democrats, at least the more leftish ones, have paid insufficient attention to actually managing the government since Clinton—but I think there are better answers than a chainsaw. In fact, the chainsaw is an advertisement for Vandalism.
So chaos it is, for the moment. Except when it isn’t. Trump’s snuggling up to Russia is purposeful, not at all chaotic. and it is beyond deplorable. The UN vote we took this week, absolving Putin of the carnage in Ukraine, was the most shameful by the United States in the history of the UN. We stood with Belarus and Burkina Faso on the side of tyranny. Israel, by the way, stood there too—which is inexplicable and, as Bret Stephens described it, vomitous. A new world order is emerging, a 19th century style mercantilist power politics, which makes me uncomfortable. A certain amount of mercantilism is realistic—China’s has been doing very well with it and we need to confront them successfully—but our “brand” is commerce tempered by idealism. We’ve done very well with that for 250 years. I simply don’t understand what Trump’s idea is here—if he has an idea—and as H.R. McMaster writes in his memoir of life as Trump’s National Security advisor, Donald’s obeisance to Putin is “inexplicable.”
Other terrible things are transpiring, especially in the media. I have written for The Washington Post and will continue to do so—on my own terms. That is, no political editing. But I mourn the disaster unfolding at this once-wonderful publication. And I do stand with Dana Milbank in his belief that Donald Trump is the greatest threat to free markets and personal liberties. Bravo, boy. Gauntlet thrown.
I also stand with Dylan Byers who slagged the Left-Empress Maddow in his column today. Maddow is angry because Joy Reid was let go by MSNBC. She points out that Joy Reid is black. Hmm. Byers points out that if you want to play that game, Reid is being replaced by two blacks and a Latina. But I don’t play those games and there is more to it than that: Reid merited the sacking. She was the left equivalent of Sean Hannity, reflexive, thuggish and often inaccurate. When she cited her “sources” in the Democratic Party, they were inevitably from Identity wing. I couldn’t stay tuned for more the minute without screaming at the TV. When she co-hosted election nights—actually, when Brian Williams left—I switched to CNN.
As for Maddow, she is smart. She is also smug beyond the bounds of nature. That is particularly annoying because this is a moment for humility amongst us Never-Trumpers. We need to think hard about a counter-strategy that reflects the cultural views of the American people. We can’t do it without them, which is something the Dems have been trying, and losing at, for years—on issues like immigration and identity. We need to understand what, if anything, Trump is doing right and present a more humane version of it. The fact that Maddow is still playing identity games shows she’s looking for eggs in a demolished chicken coop. Not every black person who is sacked is a victim of racism. Until the Dems figure that out, they’re not gonna win many elections.
Crypto Watch
When I wrote about Trump’s crooked crypto scam a few weeks ago, $Trump coins were trading at about $16. This morning they’re at $12 or so. If this is a market valuation of Trump credibility, Donald is 25% down in less than a month. But, as with so many other things right now, I have no idea what it really means. Keeping my eyes open, though.
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Picture this: Hitler invades Poland and makes clear that he intends to take over all of Europe. Churchill asks Roosevelt for help. Roosevelt says first we make a deal in which you pay us whatever we want. And we are not going to promise to keep you safe from Hitler on Day 2. Churchill says you want us to surrender to Hitler but first pay you? Roosevelt says, that's right. England says no f_king way. Roosevelt proceeds to scream at Churchill and Garner (or Wallace, take your pick) gives a snide lecture on the proper way to capitulate. Churchill leaves the Oval Office, Roosevelt tells the Jews, "Too bad about your families but it's Churchill's fault for not giving up the country he took an oath to defend. Roosevelt calls Hitler and says "We did it." Germany develops the atomic bomb and uses it on NYC and says you better behave. There are no Jews left to go to Palestine, there is no United Nations to establish Israel, and Hitler has had his final solution. Hitler lets Roosevelt put his name on the Eiffel Tower.
Is that about where we are?
I really don’t know how a Russian plant in the White House would act differently.