@whileb.bsky.social
I’ve long thought about how this whole administration are just creatures of the internet. This is an excellent breakdown.
New, from me: The Trump administration isn’t just using social media to shape a narrative. They view the world through a social media lens in a way that is plausibly corrupting their judgment and undermining their performance.
Welcome to the clicktatorship. 🧵
donmoynihan.substack.com/p/life-under...
Welcome to the clicktatorship. 🧵
donmoynihan.substack.com/p/life-under...
Life Under a Clicktatorship
What happens to government when everything is content?
donmoynihan.substack.com
January 7, 2026 at 12:53 PM
I’ve long thought about how this whole administration are just creatures of the internet. This is an excellent breakdown.
Reposted
if we can't clearly say that a party whitewashing a coup is anti-democratic and un-American, then we've truly lost the plot
Pardon my coup
Accurate political journalism requires a bias toward democracy
www.gelliottmorris.com
January 7, 2026 at 12:00 PM
if we can't clearly say that a party whitewashing a coup is anti-democratic and un-American, then we've truly lost the plot
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yep. i can identify any number of structural issues but at the end of the day the basic problem is the republican party. this has been apparent for at least 20 years. it is also an incredibly unpopular observation to make among “serious” people.
Right.
If you want a good explanation of why the American system of government worked well enough for 200 years and then suddenly stopped, it's because Republicans in Congress suddenly started letting their partisan interests COMPLETELY override their institutional interests
If you want a good explanation of why the American system of government worked well enough for 200 years and then suddenly stopped, it's because Republicans in Congress suddenly started letting their partisan interests COMPLETELY override their institutional interests
a lot of problems wouldn't exist if we had a congress with even an ounce of self interest
January 4, 2026 at 11:52 PM
yep. i can identify any number of structural issues but at the end of the day the basic problem is the republican party. this has been apparent for at least 20 years. it is also an incredibly unpopular observation to make among “serious” people.
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5. I have no respect for Donald Trump. He diminishes everything he touches. But focusing on him right now is like being bitten by your neighbor’s unleashed, unfenced rabid dog and focusing on the dog. If we don’t hold his enablers to account we’re going to keep getting bit.
January 3, 2026 at 2:55 PM
5. I have no respect for Donald Trump. He diminishes everything he touches. But focusing on him right now is like being bitten by your neighbor’s unleashed, unfenced rabid dog and focusing on the dog. If we don’t hold his enablers to account we’re going to keep getting bit.
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I keep saying this but no one is connecting the dots. The war is to satisfy legal preconditions for mass removal *domestically* of Latinos (i.e., suddenly a lot of people are going to be “Venezuelan” for purposes of removal). This is 100% Stephen Miller…oil claim is to make grandpa go along
There is no national security logic that would impel the US to want to do regime change in Venezuela. It's simply not that important. I'm not even sure wag the dog is the right metaphor for what's happening here. Seems like an insane misallocation of US national security assets and attention.
Trump: "Venezuela is completely surrounded by the largest Armada ever assembled ... It will only get bigger, and the shock to them will be like nothing they have ever seen before — Until such time as they return to the USA all of the Oil, Land, and other Assets that they previously stole from us."
December 17, 2025 at 12:47 AM
I keep saying this but no one is connecting the dots. The war is to satisfy legal preconditions for mass removal *domestically* of Latinos (i.e., suddenly a lot of people are going to be “Venezuelan” for purposes of removal). This is 100% Stephen Miller…oil claim is to make grandpa go along
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This is what I mean when I say the Trump era has made me “more conservative”: He is taking a wrecking ball to norms and institutions he does not understand, on the premise that American power, prosperity, and stability are some ineluctable law of nature rather than hard won & fragile achievements.
Kori Schake: “The men who built this international order weren’t leftist college professors sitting around the faculty lounge. They were the people who had fought World War I and World War II and saw the damage of an unstable order.” www.foreignaffairs.com/podcasts/fea...
The Fear and Weakness at the Heart of Trump’s Strategy
A Conversation With Kori Schake
www.foreignaffairs.com
December 16, 2025 at 5:04 AM
This is what I mean when I say the Trump era has made me “more conservative”: He is taking a wrecking ball to norms and institutions he does not understand, on the premise that American power, prosperity, and stability are some ineluctable law of nature rather than hard won & fragile achievements.
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the birthright clause was not just written to wipe dred scott off of the books, it was written to repudiate the *idea* behind dred scott, you might say the larger *ideological project* of dred scott. and the whole of section 1 of the 14th amendment is a constitutional statement of political equality
December 6, 2025 at 6:03 PM
the birthright clause was not just written to wipe dred scott off of the books, it was written to repudiate the *idea* behind dred scott, you might say the larger *ideological project* of dred scott. and the whole of section 1 of the 14th amendment is a constitutional statement of political equality
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In WHITE FLIGHT, I detailed how segregationists moved from the overt racism of the KKK to subtler and stronger forms of discrimination rooted in a language of race-neutral rights … and then MAGA just picked up the tiki torch and lit a cross again.
Social scientists spent the last 50 years arguing that racism is still prevalent in US even if it's covert (racism w/ a veneer), unconscious (racism w/out intent), or systemic (racism w/out racists).
Along comes MAGA, which embraces gutter racism while claiming that teaching about racism is racist.
Along comes MAGA, which embraces gutter racism while claiming that teaching about racism is racist.
Trump: "It’s a hellhole right now. And those Somalians should be out of here. They've destroyed our country. And all they do is complain, complain, complain. You have her. She’s always talking about the Constitution provides me with – go back to your own country and figure out your constitution."
December 4, 2025 at 12:49 PM
In WHITE FLIGHT, I detailed how segregationists moved from the overt racism of the KKK to subtler and stronger forms of discrimination rooted in a language of race-neutral rights … and then MAGA just picked up the tiki torch and lit a cross again.
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Expect to see the Four Pillars of Disordered Doubt deployed in any party debates about policy and leadership.
November 30, 2025 at 11:39 AM
Expect to see the Four Pillars of Disordered Doubt deployed in any party debates about policy and leadership.
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Unfortunately, in US journalism it is considered neutral to spread a lie, but it is considered "biased" to call out a lie. So, there is a structural asymmetry that rewards colorful lies with virality.
November 30, 2025 at 1:16 AM
Unfortunately, in US journalism it is considered neutral to spread a lie, but it is considered "biased" to call out a lie. So, there is a structural asymmetry that rewards colorful lies with virality.
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A running theme of Trump II is cautious, level-headed, mainstream, career professional experts sounding existential alarms about how we aren't panicking nearly enough.
I know you already know, but for other folks who don't, Goldsmith was previously head of OLC, is a genuinely brilliant mind on executive authority and separation of powers, and is usually very cautious about making claims this unqualified and direct. That he is saying it so starkly is v significant
November 29, 2025 at 6:05 AM
A running theme of Trump II is cautious, level-headed, mainstream, career professional experts sounding existential alarms about how we aren't panicking nearly enough.
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The President of the United States just called for Democratic members of Congress to be executed. "HANG THEM", he posted.
If you're a person of influence in this country and you haven't picked a side, maybe now would be the time to pick a fucking side.
If you're a person of influence in this country and you haven't picked a side, maybe now would be the time to pick a fucking side.
November 20, 2025 at 4:15 PM
The President of the United States just called for Democratic members of Congress to be executed. "HANG THEM", he posted.
If you're a person of influence in this country and you haven't picked a side, maybe now would be the time to pick a fucking side.
If you're a person of influence in this country and you haven't picked a side, maybe now would be the time to pick a fucking side.
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wrote about the president’s flagrant and destructive corruption in a column that references street fighter, the simpsons, machiavelli, and a host of revolutionary-era americans (gift link)
Opinion | The White House Gold Rush Is On
www.nytimes.com
November 19, 2025 at 11:51 AM
wrote about the president’s flagrant and destructive corruption in a column that references street fighter, the simpsons, machiavelli, and a host of revolutionary-era americans (gift link)
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i'd say it did. the public put a group of thieves, vandals and extremists in office last november and they promptly went about destroying everything that might work to limit their ability to loot, steal and inflicting pain on the people they hate
This whole NYT account about the weaponization of DOJ is beyond disturbing. Kinda feels like the US government fell in January.
Gift link: www.nytimes.com/interactive/...
Gift link: www.nytimes.com/interactive/...
November 17, 2025 at 2:19 PM
i'd say it did. the public put a group of thieves, vandals and extremists in office last november and they promptly went about destroying everything that might work to limit their ability to loot, steal and inflicting pain on the people they hate
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One. Special. Boy. A 230+ year old experiment with the rule of law & a constitutional republic, all cast aside for the most boringly corrupt & lawless authoritarian one can imagine. Mind boggling how completely every institution has failed to meet the moment.
"the documents were so restricted that top Justice Department security officials reacted with surprise to the code names: They had never heard of them before. Some involved special access programs that required the president or a cabinet member to grant approval to view."
November 4, 2025 at 4:07 AM
One. Special. Boy. A 230+ year old experiment with the rule of law & a constitutional republic, all cast aside for the most boringly corrupt & lawless authoritarian one can imagine. Mind boggling how completely every institution has failed to meet the moment.
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Shutdowns, hyper-gerrymandering, long legal battles over suffrage/elections, long delays in counting ballots & announcing election results, the idea that one vote counts less in some states than others, etc. We tolerate this stuff as if its normal, when in fact it's wildly abnormal. Look around.
Maybe it’s difficult for any country/population to see itself for what it is from the inside. But the degree to which we, as Americans, have just learned to normalize & tolerate absolute authoritarian/anti-democratic nonsense is staggering, once you look around for 5 minutes at the rest of the world
Again, other countries simply hold elections. The results are known, the election over, & all parties accept the results within 24 hours. We don't have to put up with this. And we most certainly should stop viewing ourselves as some global paragon of democracy. We're an international embarrassment.
November 3, 2025 at 7:28 PM
Shutdowns, hyper-gerrymandering, long legal battles over suffrage/elections, long delays in counting ballots & announcing election results, the idea that one vote counts less in some states than others, etc. We tolerate this stuff as if its normal, when in fact it's wildly abnormal. Look around.
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Democrats are furious that the Trump Administration held a briefing on Capitol Hill today about U.S. military strikes on suspected drug boats. Only Republicans were invited. This is from Sen. Mark Warner D-VA.
October 29, 2025 at 11:28 PM
Democrats are furious that the Trump Administration held a briefing on Capitol Hill today about U.S. military strikes on suspected drug boats. Only Republicans were invited. This is from Sen. Mark Warner D-VA.
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the democratic party’s basic problem is it has almost no control over how its message reaches the ears of voters, especially outside of presidential election years. but rather than devote serious time, attention and cash to that problem its consultants and pundits want to fight factional battles
October 27, 2025 at 6:29 PM
the democratic party’s basic problem is it has almost no control over how its message reaches the ears of voters, especially outside of presidential election years. but rather than devote serious time, attention and cash to that problem its consultants and pundits want to fight factional battles
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The perversion of our nonpartisan criminal justice system exactly mirrors the methods used to establish the Erdoğan dictatorship in Turkey—now in its 22nd year.
Forcing public servants to “find” crimes by political opponents equates to suspending our Constitution. It will harm all on Right & Left.
Forcing public servants to “find” crimes by political opponents equates to suspending our Constitution. It will harm all on Right & Left.
No evidence, but the pretextual case isn't dismissed. DOJ will instead keep looking to find some way to bring charges against Schiff. Even when the president's opponents escape charges (for now), it's still heads Trump wins tails they lose. www.nbcnews.com/politics/jus...
October 23, 2025 at 9:28 PM
The perversion of our nonpartisan criminal justice system exactly mirrors the methods used to establish the Erdoğan dictatorship in Turkey—now in its 22nd year.
Forcing public servants to “find” crimes by political opponents equates to suspending our Constitution. It will harm all on Right & Left.
Forcing public servants to “find” crimes by political opponents equates to suspending our Constitution. It will harm all on Right & Left.
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I’m a first amendment & constitutional lawyer. I’ll talk til I’m blue in the face abt the promise & value in fighting for democracy for us all. But this is bigger. This isn’t just “people have a right to record cops.” This is about our ability to see the equal humanity in others.
October 23, 2025 at 10:32 PM
I’m a first amendment & constitutional lawyer. I’ll talk til I’m blue in the face abt the promise & value in fighting for democracy for us all. But this is bigger. This isn’t just “people have a right to record cops.” This is about our ability to see the equal humanity in others.
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It’s never ok for law enforcement to treat ppl as they’ve been treating immigrants & citizens. Nothing to do w/ their status or the law. The law is just the floor ICE has sunk below. It is an ethics Q why outsized groups of masked men intimidate ppl & violate property/privacy/bodies/constitution.
October 23, 2025 at 10:26 PM
It’s never ok for law enforcement to treat ppl as they’ve been treating immigrants & citizens. Nothing to do w/ their status or the law. The law is just the floor ICE has sunk below. It is an ethics Q why outsized groups of masked men intimidate ppl & violate property/privacy/bodies/constitution.
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Me 10 years ago: You know people are always calling political opponents Nazis even if they aren’t anything like Nazis, I wish that would stop
Monkey‘s paw:
Monkey‘s paw:
October 21, 2025 at 11:26 PM
Me 10 years ago: You know people are always calling political opponents Nazis even if they aren’t anything like Nazis, I wish that would stop
Monkey‘s paw:
Monkey‘s paw:
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there are good & worthwhile historical & legal arguments for why the unitary executive is nonsense but to my mind the most straightforward argument is that it makes no logical sense that the president has absolute removal power over the people whose job it is to keep the executive branch accountable
The Inspector General system is basically broken now. Most IGs have been fired, most positions remain vacant. Those who remain or would take the job pose no risk to holding the regime accountable.
Congress added more barriers to Trump firing IGs after his first term. He just ignored them.
Congress added more barriers to Trump firing IGs after his first term. He just ignored them.
October 21, 2025 at 10:47 PM
there are good & worthwhile historical & legal arguments for why the unitary executive is nonsense but to my mind the most straightforward argument is that it makes no logical sense that the president has absolute removal power over the people whose job it is to keep the executive branch accountable
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Pritzker: Throughout history we've learned that tyranny doesn't arrive with dramatic proclamations. Most times it comes quietly wrapped in the language of law and order, with fingers pointed at someone who doesn't look like you, promising safety while demanding that we sacrifice our neighbors.
October 18, 2025 at 11:30 PM
Pritzker: Throughout history we've learned that tyranny doesn't arrive with dramatic proclamations. Most times it comes quietly wrapped in the language of law and order, with fingers pointed at someone who doesn't look like you, promising safety while demanding that we sacrifice our neighbors.
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“You can win elections by tacking to the middle; lots of people have. But you can also win elections by staking a moral position and convincing people to agree with you. You can earn support by demonstrating what is important to you instead of just being determined to nod along with what you hear.”
Yesterday I wrote about the effort by center-left pundits to police what people are passionate about.
www.pbump.net/o/sincerity-...
www.pbump.net/o/sincerity-...
Sincerity is not the problem
As is inevitably the case after an election — and is especially the case after an election with an unexpected result — allies of the losing presidential candidate in 2024 looked for people to blame. O...
www.pbump.net
October 18, 2025 at 9:21 PM
“You can win elections by tacking to the middle; lots of people have. But you can also win elections by staking a moral position and convincing people to agree with you. You can earn support by demonstrating what is important to you instead of just being determined to nod along with what you hear.”