Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Philip Bump

@pbump.com

160K followers 310 following 12K posts

Former Washington Post columnist Writing: pbump.net Book: "The Aftermath" Email: [email protected] Signal: pbump.11

Posts Media Videos Starter Packs

Pinned

Philip Bump @pbump.com · Jul 17

And, uh, some personal news: This is also my last column for The Post. I was offered and accepted a buyout.
To answer one possible next question, I'm not sure what's next save taking some time off. If you want, you can enter your email at pbump.net and I'll let you know when I figure it out!

Philip Bump @pbump.com · Jul 17

For my column today, I wrote about how Trump leveraged America's collapsing trust in institutions — and how his second term has accelerated that collapse. Gift link: wapo.st/3IzN4QA

Opinion | When institutions crumble, strongmen step in

Trump wants to be the sole authority. With trust in institutions cratering, he sees his opportunity.

wapo.st

850 1.6K 7.9K

Philip Bump @pbump.com · 57m

Why didn’t he just let the air out of her tires?

11 48 180

Philip Bump @pbump.com · 59m

Did a quick post earlier to reinforce that in the places where Trump says crime is out of control crime is demonstrably under control.
www.pbump.net/o/a-quick-re...

6 68 190

Philip Bump @pbump.com · 2h

Phillies got to play four more games than the Mets this season and won one of them. Congrats!

8 1 58

Philip Bump @pbump.com · 2h

Good two days of baseball!

2 59

Philip Bump @pbump.com · 3h

92 170 960

Philip Bump @pbump.com · 4h

That’s an intense Halloween costume!

Philip Bump @pbump.com · 4h

Quick jog up 34th Street and made it, amazingly.

4 140

Philip Bump @pbump.com · 5h

I wasn’t around for Nixon!

3 4

Philip Bump @pbump.com · 5h

Supposed to be on air on CNN in 8 minutes. On the West Side Highway currently. Let’s see!

9 1 160

Philip Bump @pbump.com · 5h

In the cities Trump is targeting to “combat crime,” violent crime was down year-over-year by July. www.pbump.net/o/a-quick-re...

7 110 370

Philip Bump @pbump.com · 5h

A great line.

Philip Bump @pbump.com · 5h

Via @mollyroberts.bsky.social, this is what ABC reported last month about the allegations that led to the James indictment.
abcnews.go.com/amp/US/trump...

While Martin is examining whether another property owned by James in Virginia was inconsistently described as both "second home" and an "investment property," sources said senior
DOJ leadership believes Martin would be unable to prove any allegations beyond a reasonable doubt, in part because Fannie Mae guidelines on the issue are too vague.

4 44 170

Philip Bump @pbump.com · 6h

Except that you have to wait a week for episodes.

1 12

Reposted by Philip Bump

Anna Bower @annabower.bsky.social · 7h

The indictment may relate to mortgage documents James co-signed to help her niece secure a loan for a property in Virginia.

This @mollyroberts.bsky.social piece explains why it appears to be a pathetically weak case.

(Fixed the link, sorry!) ⬇️

www.lawfaremedia.org/article/next...

Courts & Litigation Criminal Justice & the Rule of Law
Next Up: Letitia James
Molly Roberts
Monday, October 6, 2025, 9:59 AM
Share On: f X in $ 6 B
It's hard to imagine a worse case than the one against James Comey-until you see the one against the attorney general of New York.

12 130 430

Philip Bump @pbump.com · 7h

Cool system.

20 100 500

Philip Bump @pbump.com · 7h

It would be *extremely* funny if the Nobel committee just gave it to Obama again.

16 12 250

Philip Bump @pbump.com · 8h

It’s fun to imagine how little his and his allies’ rhetoric would change if the prize Trump was so desperate for wasn’t the Nobel Peace Prize but “Sexiest Man Alive.”

8 27 250

Philip Bump @pbump.com · 8h

It's weird to write this conspiratorially, but it seems clear that the president actually doesn't want you to know that crime is down in the cities he's targeted. www.pbump.net/o/a-quick-re...

A quick reminder that crime is down in U.S. cities

One of the particularly frustrating things about President Trump's push to send federal officials and red-state National Guard soldiers to cities to "fight crime" is that those cities (and cities gene...

www.pbump.net

6 76 280

Philip Bump @pbump.com · 11h

Philip Bump @pbump.com · 13h

no, was just reinforcing that even when she's spending, it's not ideal for the campaign

1 5

Philip Bump @pbump.com · 14h

[guy who has written about politics for more than a decade] yes, thank you

1 9

Philip Bump @pbump.com · 14h

FWIW, I saw an ad for her last night … here in New York.

5 41

Philip Bump @pbump.com · 14h

52 69 510

Reposted by Philip Bump

The Upshot @upshot.nytimes.com · 14h

NYT World:
The vast majority of cocaine is produced and smuggled elsewhere. And Venezuela does not supply fentanyl at all.

www.nytimes.com/interactive/...

Why Blowing Up Venezuelan Boats Won’t Stop the Flow of Drugs

President Trump says striking drug traffickers from Venezuela will prevent deadly drugs from reaching the United States. But the major smuggling routes are elsewhere.

www.nytimes.com

9 39 91

Philip Bump @pbump.com · 15h

which is, as the name suggests, in new york, which the newspaper can look out the window to see very much not taken over by antifa

21 10 140