David A. Graham
@dgraham.bsky.social
Journalist, nouvelle-lettrist, and unionist at The Atlantic. Rubber City -> Bull City. [email protected]
NYT bestseller THE PROJECT out now: https://smarturl.it/GHz99R
NYT bestseller THE PROJECT out now: https://smarturl.it/GHz99R
Got an album press release today with an epigraph from Gramsci
January 23, 2026 at 3:10 PM
Got an album press release today with an epigraph from Gramsci
“The ‘77 Gerald Ford swimming pool? You compare that to tearing down and building a new East Wing? Come on. Be serious,” the judge said. www.cnn.com/2026/01/22/p...
Federal judge appears skeptical that Trump has legal authority to proceed with White House ballroom | CNN Politics
A federal judge expressed deep skepticism Thursday that the White House has legal authority to construct President Donald Trump’s massive new ballroom without express authorization from Congress.
www.cnn.com
January 23, 2026 at 3:03 PM
“The ‘77 Gerald Ford swimming pool? You compare that to tearing down and building a new East Wing? Come on. Be serious,” the judge said. www.cnn.com/2026/01/22/p...
100 counties, baby
Not sure how many counties there are in #NorthCarolina but this has gotta be most of ‘em
January 23, 2026 at 2:52 PM
100 counties, baby
Reposted by David A. Graham
When an ICE agent confronts you is "when your due process ends," says the member of Congress from the largest border district.
www.politico.com/news/2026/01...
www.politico.com/news/2026/01...
January 23, 2026 at 1:11 PM
When an ICE agent confronts you is "when your due process ends," says the member of Congress from the largest border district.
www.politico.com/news/2026/01...
www.politico.com/news/2026/01...
Paging @jackshafer.bsky.social
incredible work by the Forward who found the one Jew in Greenland so they could work the Jewish angle on the Greenland story
(spoiler alert: he does not want Trump to take over Greenland)
(spoiler alert: he does not want Trump to take over Greenland)
Greenland’s only Jew hears a familiar pattern in Trump’s annexation talk
Paul Cohen, Greenland’s only Jew, explains how Jewish history shapes his response to Trump’s renewed talk of annexing the island.
forward.com
January 23, 2026 at 3:32 AM
Paging @jackshafer.bsky.social
Bitumen please
The Trump administration today announced a new government-backed fossil fuel industry mascot.
Meet Coalie the lump of coal!
Meet Coalie the lump of coal!
January 23, 2026 at 1:52 AM
Bitumen please
Reposted by David A. Graham
burghum: hey kids, meet coalie
coalie: hi kids! we're gonna be best friends!
kids: yayyyyyyy!!
burghum: we will now b u r n h i m.
kids: [horrified shrieks as coalie is set ablaze]
coalie: hi kids! we're gonna be best friends!
kids: yayyyyyyy!!
burghum: we will now b u r n h i m.
kids: [horrified shrieks as coalie is set ablaze]
The Trump administration today announced a new government-backed fossil fuel industry mascot.
Meet Coalie the lump of coal!
Meet Coalie the lump of coal!
January 22, 2026 at 7:47 PM
burghum: hey kids, meet coalie
coalie: hi kids! we're gonna be best friends!
kids: yayyyyyyy!!
burghum: we will now b u r n h i m.
kids: [horrified shrieks as coalie is set ablaze]
coalie: hi kids! we're gonna be best friends!
kids: yayyyyyyy!!
burghum: we will now b u r n h i m.
kids: [horrified shrieks as coalie is set ablaze]
Reposted by David A. Graham
Recall that a district court wrote a lengthy and closely reasoned opinion blocking DOGE's access to sensitive SSA data after extensive briefing. The Fourth Circuit agreed. Then SCOTUS threw that out with no explanation in a two-page emergency order.
"Two members of Elon Musk’s DOGE team working at the Social Security Administration were secretly in touch with an advocacy group seeking to “overturn election results in certain states,” and one signed an agreement that may have involved using Social Security data to match state voter rolls..."
If anyone has any information on the identity of the "advocacy group tyring to overturn election results in certain states” and who were secretly in contact with DOGE, my Signal is DavidGilbert.01
www.politico.com/news/2026/01...
www.politico.com/news/2026/01...
January 22, 2026 at 6:42 PM
Recall that a district court wrote a lengthy and closely reasoned opinion blocking DOGE's access to sensitive SSA data after extensive briefing. The Fourth Circuit agreed. Then SCOTUS threw that out with no explanation in a two-page emergency order.
Guessing he didn't take admiralty law at Yale
Vance on the economy:
"You don't turn the Titanic around overnight"
"You don't turn the Titanic around overnight"
January 22, 2026 at 6:20 PM
Guessing he didn't take admiralty law at Yale
Reposted by David A. Graham
So on Greenland Trump gets a status quo outcome but tanks our credibility in Europe while in Venezuela Trump gets a status quo outcome but tanks our credibility in Latin America
January 22, 2026 at 6:18 PM
So on Greenland Trump gets a status quo outcome but tanks our credibility in Europe while in Venezuela Trump gets a status quo outcome but tanks our credibility in Latin America
Reposted by David A. Graham
America likely just recorded its lowest homicide rate in more than 100 years. How did this happen?
New from me: www.theatlantic.com/ideas/2026/0...
New from me: www.theatlantic.com/ideas/2026/0...
The Great Crime Decline Is Happening All Across the Country
Even cities with understaffed police departments have made record gains.
www.theatlantic.com
January 22, 2026 at 3:59 PM
America likely just recorded its lowest homicide rate in more than 100 years. How did this happen?
New from me: www.theatlantic.com/ideas/2026/0...
New from me: www.theatlantic.com/ideas/2026/0...
Sorry, this is a squish position from Rahm. You want forced retirement at 75? Your brother wants *death* at 75! www.theatlantic.com/magazine/arc...
January 22, 2026 at 3:38 PM
Sorry, this is a squish position from Rahm. You want forced retirement at 75? Your brother wants *death* at 75! www.theatlantic.com/magazine/arc...
I spoke with @vox.com's Today Explained about how Project 2025 might play out in 2026: www.vox.com/today-explai...
What’s next for Project 2025?
And how much has the Trump administration already accomplished from its playbook?
www.vox.com
January 22, 2026 at 2:41 PM
I spoke with @vox.com's Today Explained about how Project 2025 might play out in 2026: www.vox.com/today-explai...
Reposted by David A. Graham
The Board of Peace comprises leaders from 18 of the world's least democratic states (plus the US) and its charter pledges $1 billion from each of them to be used at the discretion of the board's chairman (you already know who it is) www.timesofisrael.com/full-text-ch...
January 22, 2026 at 11:37 AM
The Board of Peace comprises leaders from 18 of the world's least democratic states (plus the US) and its charter pledges $1 billion from each of them to be used at the discretion of the board's chairman (you already know who it is) www.timesofisrael.com/full-text-ch...
“Without us, right now you’d all be speaking German,” Donald Trump scolded European leaders in Davos this morning. Perhaps the Germans have a word for the experience of watching your country’s leader embarrass himself and the country on the global stage. www.theatlantic.com/newsletters/...
Trump Gives a Stump Speech at Davos
The president’s remarks at the World Economic Forum show that he still doesn’t understand how American greatness functions globally.
www.theatlantic.com
January 22, 2026 at 2:13 AM
“Without us, right now you’d all be speaking German,” Donald Trump scolded European leaders in Davos this morning. Perhaps the Germans have a word for the experience of watching your country’s leader embarrass himself and the country on the global stage. www.theatlantic.com/newsletters/...
Reposted by David A. Graham
The justices keep returning to the hypo of a Fed governor posting pro-Nazi videos to ask whether that would meet the bar for for-cause removal. The idea that this kind of content would obviously cross the line seems a bit farcical given some of the material that DHS regularly posts on social media
January 21, 2026 at 4:29 PM
The justices keep returning to the hypo of a Fed governor posting pro-Nazi videos to ask whether that would meet the bar for for-cause removal. The idea that this kind of content would obviously cross the line seems a bit farcical given some of the material that DHS regularly posts on social media
What is he talking about?
January 21, 2026 at 2:42 PM
What is he talking about?
Somehow it remains breathtaking to watch the president get up in front of these audiences and just make shit up wholesale
January 21, 2026 at 2:09 PM
Somehow it remains breathtaking to watch the president get up in front of these audiences and just make shit up wholesale
"I am derived from Europe." — Donald J. Trump
January 21, 2026 at 2:00 PM
"I am derived from Europe." — Donald J. Trump
This checks out nymag.com/strategist/a...
January 21, 2026 at 1:31 PM
This checks out nymag.com/strategist/a...
Reposted by David A. Graham
Two unconventional signs of severe incoming weather:
1. A waffle house being closed
2. Ted Cruz hopping on a plane to take a vacation
1. A waffle house being closed
2. Ted Cruz hopping on a plane to take a vacation
Senator Ted Cruz (R-Texas) was spotted earlier today, January 20, 2026, on a plane heading to Laguna Beach as the state of Texas braces for a rare ice threat and arctic cold front.
January 21, 2026 at 12:15 PM
Two unconventional signs of severe incoming weather:
1. A waffle house being closed
2. Ted Cruz hopping on a plane to take a vacation
1. A waffle house being closed
2. Ted Cruz hopping on a plane to take a vacation
I did not think I could learn anything new about Trump. The last year has proven me wrong www.theatlantic.com/newsletters/...
What We Learned About Trump This Past Year
The president’s recent follow-through on his threats represents a real shift in his approach.
www.theatlantic.com
January 21, 2026 at 2:30 AM
I did not think I could learn anything new about Trump. The last year has proven me wrong www.theatlantic.com/newsletters/...
"Donald Trump campaigned, most of all, on two promises: That he would govern as an autocrat, and that he would seek revenge on his enemies. Trump isn’t very good at representation, but in this case he’s mostly tried to keep those promises." goodpoliticsbadpolitics.substack.com/p/one-year-o...
One Year of All This
On the corrosive private ambition of Donald Trump.
goodpoliticsbadpolitics.substack.com
January 20, 2026 at 6:20 PM
"Donald Trump campaigned, most of all, on two promises: That he would govern as an autocrat, and that he would seek revenge on his enemies. Trump isn’t very good at representation, but in this case he’s mostly tried to keep those promises." goodpoliticsbadpolitics.substack.com/p/one-year-o...
Reposted by David A. Graham
The president once promised to combat the supposed excesses of woke culture—but since taking office, he’s been dismantling something else, @dgraham.bsky.social argues in The Atlantic Daily.
What Trump’s War Against Wokeness Is Really About
The president once promised to combat the supposed excesses of woke culture, but since taking office he’s been dismantling something else.
bit.ly
January 15, 2026 at 12:35 AM
The president once promised to combat the supposed excesses of woke culture—but since taking office, he’s been dismantling something else, @dgraham.bsky.social argues in The Atlantic Daily.