Item one: On wretched display this week: the three ugly faces of MAGA-style swampiness. |
"Drain the swamp," Donald Trump said many times—mostly in his first race in 2016, but also in 2020 and 2024. To a certain kind of low-information person who has been conditioned to believe that everybody in Washington is corrupt and in it for themselves, the message resonated well enough that, with the help of the right-wing echo chamber, the man who has spent his entire adult life cheating people and lying about it convinced enough voters that he would be the scimitar-wielding enemy of corruption. MAGA America still believes this, because Trump has convinced those folks, through further blatant and obvious lies, that he was the victim of the most sinister persecution in American political history. All the work of the swamp. Back on planet Earth, meanwhile, we saw many instances this week of the Trump swamp in action, and it’s far worse than anything we’ve ever seen before in this country. Of course every week of this presidency so far has been the equivalent of a fetid, mosquito-infested morass, but this week was different because some of his hench people had to go up to Capitol Hill and answer a few questions, and we saw on full wretched display the three ugly faces of MAGA-style swampiness. But we must start with Trump himself and that Qatari 747, which he intends to use as Air Force One and then transfer it to his presidential library foundation upon leaving office. It’s not possible to overstate how corrupt this is. The $400 million figure you see quoted in the media is the market value of the luxury jumbo jet right now; that is, the size of the bribe. But it will cost a billion, maybe more, to reconfigure. |
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This was too blatant even for the likes of Ben Shapiro, but other liars reliably leapt to Trump’s defense. Wrote Ann Coulter: "I can’t wait for the press to find out about France’s so-called ‘gift’ of the Statue of Liberty, accepted in 1886 by then-President Grover Cleveland." Right. As if Cleveland put the statue in his backyard and started living in it. It was a gift to the United States, not to Cleveland. Coulter isn’t that stupid. She’s a lawyer. She’s just lying and provoking. What else is new, I guess, but it just shows the cynical depths these people will go to in order to keep the MAGA base in a state of rage. Which brings us to Swamp Creature Pam Bondi, who approved the gift, calling it "legally permissible." That’s total nonsense, made worse by the fact that the attorney general once lobbied for Qatar. But why should this surprise us? The New York Times reported Friday that Bondi dumped between $1 million and $5 million worth of shares in Trump’s media company on April 2, the day Trump announced his crazy tariffs (though it’s unknown whether she sold them before the announcement, which could indicate she acted on inside knowledge, or afterward). Corruption is just one face of this swampdom. Tragicomic evasive incompetence is another. Exhibit A this week was Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s Capitol Hill testimony, in which he dodged questions about his track record on vaccines and ended up saying, "I don’t want to seem like I’m being evasive, but I don’t think people should be taking medical advice from me." Remember, this is the man who runs the federal agency that is the chief dispenser of policy and advice about public health. Kennedy also showed he knew next to nothing about the agency he allegedly runs. Maryland Democratic Senator Angela Alsobrooks asked him about a program of Health and Human Services that is meant to fight sudden infant death syndrome. Where, she wondered, is this program housed? He took two incorrect stabs at an answer. Finally, Alsobrooks had to tell him that it was part of the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development. Eunice Kennedy Shriver, founder of the Special Olympics and a philanthropist on intellectual disability issues with few peers in American history, was his aunt. But the third and worst face of thuggish swampery is plain cruelty, and here, no one can come close to Kristi Noem, the Homeland Security secretary. She traipsed up to Capitol Hill this week, where Democratic Congressman Robert Garcia asked her some questions about Andry Hernández Romero, the gay man from Venezuela whom the Trump administration sent down to the notorious CECOT prison in El Salvador in early April. The administration asserts that Hernández Romero was a member of Tren de Agua but has advanced little evidence to support that charge. He has no criminal record, and the U.S. government determined that he had a credible claim that he needed asylum. Garcia simply asked Noem to confirm that he hadn’t been killed: "Would you commit to just letting his mother know, as a mother to mother, if Andry is alive?" "Our asylum applications are different than the granting of asylum, and I don’t know the specifics of this individual case. This individual is in El Salvador, and the appeal would be best made to the president and to the government of El Salvador." Nice. And now she wants to have a reality TV show in which immigrants compete for U.S. citizenship. Not making this up. These people aren’t draining any swamp. They are the swamp. I could go on. National Intelligence Director Tulsi Gabbard this week fired two veteran intelligence professionals because they wrote an assessment that was at odds with Trump’s rationale for deporting alleged Venezuelan gang members. And now she wants to put James Comey "behind bars" for a stupid Instagram post of a photo of seashells forming the numbers "8647," which Bondi took to mean he was calling for Trump’s assassination. Comey later deleted the post and apologized, saying he "didn’t realize some folks associate those numbers with violence." Neither did I. I always thought "86" just means to eject or toss someone or thing, as in, "I 86’d that drunk barfly" or "I 86’d that tattered old coat." Any other administration would have accepted Comey’s apology and let it go. But in Trumpland, Comey’s crime wasn’t a mere Instagram post. It’s that he is the enemy. And because he is the enemy, the regime is completely justified in dangling a prison term over his head. And so things go in authoritarian swamps, when the minions fear that Dear Leader has been offended. |
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Undoubtedly, Donald Trump is a threat to American democracy; but the bigger threat is the obscene wealth gap that allowed his rise. This event on Tuesday, June 24 will build on our special reporting and polling about the concentration of wealth in America. |
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Last week’s quiz: "Arrivederci, Roma…" As we awaited the puff of white smoke, we poked into the history of La Citta Eterna. |
1. According to legend, Rome gets its name from Romulus, the city’s founder and first king, in the 750s BCE. As infants, Romulus and his brother, Remus (whom Romulus ultimately killed), were suckled by what animal? |
A. A lioness B. A female fox (vixen) C. A Palomino mare D. A she-wolf |
Answer: D, she-wolf. You have perhaps seen the famous sculpture, The Capitoline Wolf. The artist’s identity has been lost to history. Livy reports that it was erected at the foot of the Palatine Hill in 295 BCE, which is pretty remarkable, I think; by that time, Rome as a city already had several hundred years’ worth of history. |
2. Around when was the Colosseum built? |
A. Around 500 BCE B. Around 200 BCE C. Just after the time of Christ D. Around 400 C.E. (or A.D.) |
Answer: C, around the time of Christ. Specifically, from 70 to 80 AD. By the way, why did they change Anno Domini to Christian Era? The former sounds so much cooler. |
3. In what region is Rome located? |
A. Abruzzo B. Lazio C. Umbria D. Campania |
Answer: B, Lazio. It’s also the home of Pecorino Romano, which I’ll take over Parmigiano Reggiano every time. (For the record: "Romano" cheese is the American imitation of Pecorino Romano.) |
4. Who is the God who occupies the central place in the Trevi Fountain? |
A. Oceanus B. Neptune C. Jupiter D. Janus |
Answer: A, Oceanus. Not Neptune! History here. I remember when I was in Rome in 2019, walking up this narrow-ish street, which, looking now at Google Maps, most likely must have been Via Poli, and then turning a little corner to see the fountain. Incredible sight. |
5. Which of these classic films was not set in Rome? |
A. Bicycle Thieves B. Light in the Piazza C. La Dolce Vita D. Nights of Cabiria |
Answer: B, Light in the Piazza, which is set in Florence. By the way, why is Firenze called Florence? It’s complicated, but for starters, the city was originally called Florentia. |
6. Which of these dishes did not originate in Rome? |
A. Fettucine Alfredo B. Pasta carbonara C. Vitello saltimbocca D. Trenette al pesto |
Answer: D, Trenette al Pesto, which comes from Genoa. |
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TNR Travel: New Dates Added |
Join a special group of readers and supporters on a lovingly designed, all-inclusive tour of one of the most spellbinding places in the world. Drawing on The New Republic’s special contacts among local historians, artists, and chefs, we’ve created a first-class experience that will immerse you in Cuba’s colorful and unique history, politics, and culture. |
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This week’s Quiz: "Mom always liked you best!" At the suggestion of a good friend and loyal reader, a quiz about the Smothers Brothers. Because they were really important, that’s why! Very political, very anti-Vietnam, pro-civil rights—and canceled for it by CBS abruptly during the third season despite ratings success. And they were quite funny, too. And talented musicians and singers. Is that enough for you? |
1. Of brothers Tom and Dick, who played double bass, and who played acoustic guitar? |
2. Before they got their TV show, the brothers were a nightclub act with a string of very successful comedy albums. Their debut album captured them performing live where? |
A. The Laugh Factory in Los Angeles B. The Bitter End in New York C. The Half Beat in Toronto D. The Purple Onion in San Francisco |
3. Who among the below was not a writer on The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour? |
A. Albert Brooks B. Steve Martin C. Don Novello D. Bob Einstein (Brooks’s brother) |
4. Pat Paulsen, the bone-dry comedian who mounted a satirical campaign for president on the show in 1968, was probably its most popular recurring character. Another very popular character was a "Hippie Chick" named Goldie O’Keefe. Who played her? |
A. Goldie Hawn B. Louise Lasser C. Susan Dey D. Leigh French |
5. The brothers featured an impressive number of great musical guests on the show. Which act’s drummer secretly placed explosives in his bass drum, which caused such an explosion that he took a little cymbal shrapnel in his arm? |
A. The Who B. The Jimi Hendrix Experience C. The Kinks D. Iron Butterfly |
6. Another musical guest appeared in October 1967—when the Vietnam War still enjoyed very strong backing from the American public—to make a bold anti-war statement. The performance started with an off-stage military-style drum roll and mournful trumpet. The camera showed Tom Smothers, who said: "The sounds you are hearing are not the sort of sounds you expect to hear from a pop group. But the young men of [group name] are tremendously talented, and tonight, we asked them to perform one of their own compositions. It is a moving tribute to those who die without knowing why." He then gave the song’s name. What band was this? |
A. Buffalo Springfield B. The Doors C. The Association D. Fairport Convention |
They also hosted Pete Seeger in his first national television appearance since he’d been blacklisted. Bill Paley decided he’d had enough in April 1969. And here’s a funny MAD Magazine take on the situation that some of you might recall. Answers next week. Feedback to [email protected]. —Michael Tomasky, editor |
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The question regarding the Qatari plane deal isn’t whether it’s corrupt or illegal. It’s both of those. The question is, who will stop it? |
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