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Garrett M. Graff

@vermontgmg.bsky.social

93K followers 3.5K following 1.2K posts

Journalist & Pulitzer finalist Historian. Fmr ed, @PoliticoMag & @washingtonian. Author of "Watergate: A New History" and "The Only Plane in the Sky" and other books. garrett.graff AT gmail OR ProtonMail. Subscribe to my newsletter: Doomsdayscenario.co

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Garrett M. Graff @vermontgmg.bsky.social · Jan 24

If anyone in or out of government wants to chat securely as the unraveling unfolds, I’m vermontgmg.14 on Signal. That’s my normal username, everywhere, with an extra Vermont: the 14th state.

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Adam Serwer @adamserwer.bsky.social · 7h

www.wweek.com/culture/2025...

Can you put into words what that purpose is? You and the frog have really become icons of this protest.

There’s been a nice overall whimsy that has shown up. The frog is amazing. We had a bunch of other inflatable people here last night, too. I saw people playing Twister the other day.

What they rely on is fear. So by coming out in an absurdist manner, it speaks to them, to some extent, that we’re actually not that afraid.

It also dismantles their narrative a little bit. When they try to describe this situation as “war-torn,” it becomes much harder to take them seriously when they have to post a video saying [U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security] Kristi Noem is up on the balcony staring over the Antifa Army and it’s, like, eight journalists and five protesters and one of them is in a chicken suit.

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Garrett M. Graff @vermontgmg.bsky.social · 7h

Ain’t never seen a ratio like that before, but well-deserved:

WSJ tweet dissing Johnny Cash with 2 reposts and an astounding 231 quotes/comments.

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Joshua Holland @joshuaholland.bsky.social · 8h

I think the only reason that people are taking this “agreement” even remotely seriously is exhaustion. They want it to be real, and for the bloodshed to stop.

Grudgie the Whale @grudgie.bsky.social · 9h

There are very real reasons to think the ceasefire won’t last.

1) Trump wants PR, not actual outcomes
2) Netanyahu’s goals haven’t changed
3) Once Trump gets his PR, Netanyahu just resumes his attacks and Trump celebrates & forgets.

So the only reason to believe in it is if number 2 is wrong.

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Simon Rosenberg @simonrosenberg.bsky.social · 11h

"It’s hard to think of a more clear example of an authoritarian regime than a political enemy being charged with crimes simply because the president wants him to be. As Peru's fascist leader General Óscar Benavides famously said: 'For my friends, everything; for my enemies, the law'.” #TrumpTyranny

Garrett M. Graff @vermontgmg.bsky.social · 11h

Jim Comey was first, but let's be clear: Donald Trump is coming for the rest of us too. www.doomsdayscenario.co/p/we-are-all...

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Tim Maughan @timmaughan.bsky.social · 9h

yes yes time to do crimes www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025...

Nearly half of FBI agents in major offices reassigned to immigration enforcement

Data shows a stunning shift in law enforcement priorities that has raised public safety concerns

www.theguardian.com

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@NewsJennifer (Jennifer Schulze) @newsjennifer.bsky.social · 10h

"no credible evidence that there is danger of rebellion in the state of Illinois."

It's mind boggling than in 2025 a federal judge in Chicago just uttered these words in court case between against the President of the United States. My god.

Perry: "I have seen no credible evidence that there is danger of rebellion in the state of Illinois."

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Mark Copelovitch @mcopelov.bsky.social · 10h

The total, multidimensional failure of elite accountability in 🇺🇸 politics & society, illustrated in one move:

max tani @maxtani.bsky.social · 10h

New: Bari Weiss booked Hillary Clinton, Mike Pompeo, and Antony Blinken for a roundtable on Gaza, her first major move at CBS.

Notably on a CBS call today in which the panel was floated, one producer also repeatedly emphasized the need to hear from Palestinians in Gaza (Weiss did not respond).

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Sunny Moraine @dynamicsymmetry.bsky.social · 10h

If we prosecute no one else—and to be clear we should prosecute so many people—we have absolutely got to go after this guy as hard as humanly possible

emptywheel @emptywheel.bsky.social · 13h

Stephen Miller is murdering Venezuelans and Colombians in cold blood bc he believes it helps his propaganda campaign to paint Latinos as dangerous.

www.theatlantic.com/national-sec...

Stephen Miller views the air strikes as an opportunity to paint immigrants as a dangerous menace, according to one of the White House officials.

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Kurt Andersen @kurtandersen.bsky.social · 10h

Reminder: because the veteran prosecutor nominated by Trump as U.S. attorney and approved by the Senate Judiciary Committee after 8 months on the job found no basis for indicting James Comey or Letitia James, Trump replaced him 3 weeks ago with an insurance lawyer he met at one of his golf courses.

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Garrett M. Graff @vermontgmg.bsky.social · 11h

Jim Comey was first, but let's be clear: Donald Trump is coming for the rest of us too. www.doomsdayscenario.co/p/we-are-all...

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Jacob Shamsian @jayshams.bsky.social · 14h

I've been wondering why Dominion Voting Systems suddenly reached settlements with Rudy Giuliani, Sidney Powell, and One America News.

Turns out, it's been purchased by a Republican-owned election tech firm that insisted on it, per Axios.

www.axios.com/2025/10/09/d...

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Julian Sanchez @normative.bsky.social · 13h

Brett Kavanaugh assures me this is the sort of minor inconvenience that shouldn't disturb anyone.

CollinCountyDems @collincountydems.bsky.social · 14h

This is terrifying!

ICE breaks into this woman’s car in the pick-up line at West Loop Elementary school in Chicago and detains her before she can pick her kids up from school. (They were eventually let go after showing their documents)

This is Trump’s America.

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Josh Marshall @joshtpm.bsky.social · 15h

Fascinating moment in the power of DC Think. Democrats are clearly *not* looking for an off ramp right now. They’re actually saying this. Which is a measure of how badly it’s going for the GOP. It’s the GOP that is actually looking for the offeamp.

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Garrett M. Graff @vermontgmg.bsky.social · 13h

As I wrote last week: “Brett Kavanaugh beclowned himself with a concurring opinion that laid out how he imagined friendly consensual encounters with immigration officers went on America’s streets.”
www.doomsdayscenario.co/p/welcome-to...

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Kevin M. Kruse @kevinmkruse.bsky.social · 13h

The Rutgers TPUSA chapter — whose characterization of a historian there as a “outspoken, well-known antifa member” led to death threats and moving his family to Europe — think *other* people are being “blatantly defamatory.”

Not them, though. They’re doing politics the right way.

Rutgers TPUSA officers slam petition to shut down chapter, ‘Blatantly defamatory’

Alexander Di Filippo accuses Turning Point USA of inciting violence against Antifa handbook author Mark Bray.

www.foxnews.com

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Leah Litman @leahlitman.bsky.social · 13h

Brett Kavanaugh: “The Govt sometimes makes brief investigative stops …”

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Patrick Chovanec @prchovanec.bsky.social · 16h

Nothing says "peace prize" like "he might bomb us if he doesn't get it".

Eric Columbus @ericcolumbus.bsky.social · 19h

Quite a headline
www.bloomberg.com/news/article...

Norway on Edge Over Trump Ahead of Nobel Peace Prize
Verdict

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Gillian Brockell @gbrockell.bsky.social · 17h

I worked at The Washington Post for 10 years. Even with all the bullshit its leadership have pulled in the last year, I kept my subscription, for little else than to access my old work.

I cancelled yesterday.

Dave Weigel @daveweigel.bsky.social · 20h

The replies on the editorial include many versions of “thanks for finally convincing me to cancel.”

Anna Bower @annabower.bsky.social · 1d

You’ve gotta be kidding me.

This WaPo editorial presents a misleading revisionist history of Special Counsel Jack Smith’s criminal cases against Trump.

Then it has the gall to compare that to Trump’s overt targeting of his perceived enemies.

Really embarrassing stuff.

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Elizabeth Spiers @espiers.bsky.social · 18h

One of the things that's terrifying about what's happening now is the number of Republicans who won't stand up to Trump because they're cowards who are terrified of backlash. MGT strikes me as just unhinged enough to not be sensitive to that, which turns out to be a liability for them.

Aaron Rupar @atrupar.com · 18h

Marjorie Taylor Greene on CNN (!): "I'm getting phone calls from people that are saying if the ACA tax credits expire, they aren't gonna be able to have health insurance. They're going to have to drop it."

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Garrett M. Graff @vermontgmg.bsky.social · 18h

You’d think a decade into all of this, the NYT would have figured out how to stop lauding the arsonist for helping to extinguish the fire.

Jack Mirkinson @jackmirkinson.bsky.social · 20h

there was a ceasefire when trump came in. he let israel blow that up, let famine spread, let his goons murder starving people, before using the power he'd had since he took office. grotesque to call this peacemaking. www.nytimes.com/2025/10/08/us/politics/trump-mideast-visit-israel-gaza.html

(from the nyt obvi) With Mideast Deal, Trump Is on the Brink of a Major Diplomatic Accomplishment

For President Trump, success in brokering a cease-fire is the ultimate test of his self-described goal as a deal maker and a peacemaker.

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Karl Bode @karlbode.com · 18h

you'd think a prominent news outlet like the New York Times might mention that "antifa" isn't an actual organization in a long story about antifa, but nope!

and the subhead helps props up a false claim this professor was up to something seedy as something up for debate

NYT headline: "Rutgers Expert on Antifa Tries to Flee to Spain After Death Threats"

subheadline: "Mark Bray was teaching courses on antifascism. Turning Point USA accused him of belonging to antifa, which he denies. His flight to Spain was canceled abruptly on Wednesday night."

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Municipal Fox @amunicipalfox.bsky.social · 1d

This frog is your FRIEND
He fights for FREEDOM

Person in a frog costume faces down ICE agents

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Melissa Gira Grant @melissagiragrant.com · 19h

I wrote about Chicago: "Is this city burning? There is a definite answer to the question. In all these cities, the answer is no. No American city is currently on fire, and if Chicago is a war zone, it’s because it’s being invaded by the president."

Trump Is Waging War on an American City

The real threat to people in Chicago (and Los Angeles and Portland) is our maniacal president.

newrepublic.com

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George Conway 👊🇺🇸🔥 @gtconway.bsky.social · 22h

So yesterday a reporter asked Donald Trump about the writ of habeas corpus, and he had no idea what it was.

"I don't know," he said. "I'd rather leave that to Kristi."

Well, It turns out Sen. Hassan asked Kristi Noem about it in May, and this was Noem's response:

Aaron Rupar @atrupar.com · May 20

HASSAN: What is habeas corpus?

NOEM: Habeas corpus is a constitutional right that the president has to be able to remove people from this country

HASSAN: That's incorrect

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Adam Serwer @adamserwer.bsky.social · 21h

This remains the most important piece i’ve written about the goals and ideological principles of the second Trump administration www.theatlantic.com/politics/arc...

bsky.app/profile/jame...

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