At Graham’s Farewell, a Glimpse Into Power in Trump’s Washington
Source: NYT > U.S. > Politics · Bias: Center Left
Summary
The political evolution of Lindsey Graham, the South Carolina senator, both captivated and confused many of his old friends but reflected the changing order in the nation’s capital.
At Graham’s Farewell, a Glimpse Into Power in Trump’s Washington
Center Left
The political evolution of Lindsey Graham, the South Carolina senator, both captivated and confused many of his old friends but reflected the changing order in the nation’s capital.
President Donald Trump sparked a firestorm late Tuesday night with an endorsement of a House candidate in Michigan — and his shocked fans on Truth Social let him have it.“It is my Great Honor to endorse Amir Hassan, who is running to represent the fantastic people of Michigan’s 8th Congressional District!” Trump wrote. “Amir Hassan has my Complete and Total Endorsement to be the next Representative from Michigan’s 8th Congressional District — HE WILL NEVER LET YOU DOWN!”His MAGA followers were not happy — Despite campaign literature in which Hassan says “Jesus Christ is his Lord and Savior," followers raged at Trump for endorsing a Muslim. “What does it profit a man to gain the whole world but lose his soul," one Trump supporter wrote. "No political gain is worth insulting our Christian faith. No Muslims in America. No Muslims in office.”That was a common theme in the comments under Trump’s post.Trump supporter Conita Drew wrote a 542-word reply.“Have you lost your mind, endorsing Muslim candidates," Drew wrote. "What has happened to you? You are not the man that I voted for three times, you have no wisdom whatsoever where Islam is concerned.”“Honestly??? Why????" ranted “Proud conservative” Kimberlee. "Do you think there are already too many foreigners in congress??? Don’t you think enough is enough at this point????” “THATS A HARD NO FOR ME. NO MUSLIMS IN OFFICE PERIOD!” stated JeffV4JC, who claims in his profile, “Jesus Christ is my God and, Donald J Trump is my President.”JoniMarieForLiberty warned, “YOU ARE BEING MISLED, President Trump! This guy is a snake in the grass. Muslim and never voted for a republican in his whole life. Moved to Michigan last summer and immediately filed to run for office. Thank you for your attention to this matter!!”“His name gives me pause. Call me racist 🤷🏼♀️ but I am merely being cautious. Obama comes to mind,” advised “Loyal Trump supporter” Billie.Mad1Macs was short and to the point, writing: “NOPE.”
President Donald Trump’s social media network’s plan to sell faster access to Truth Social posts hands Democrats another high-profile target as they prep congressional investigations into the Trump administration in case they win in the November midterm elections. Trump Media & Technology Group, which runs the Truth Social platform, recently announced the plan. Trump’s posts […]
President Donald Trump pardoned a Republican megadonor linked to a massive fraud scandal after he contributed to a high-stakes swing state campaign, according to a new report.Adam Kidan — who pleaded guilty in the lobbyist Jack Abramoff conspiracy case —received a pardon from Trump just days after making a $2,600 to Rep. Ryan MacKenzie's (R-PA) leadership PAC on June 30, NOTUS reported Wednesday."Trump traveled to Mackenzie’s eastern Pennsylvania district on June 23 to campaign with him," the report stated. "The president pardoned Kidan on July 3."Mackenzie’s office denied communication with Trump regarding the pardon but did not respond to question about whether the campaign would keep the cash, NOTUS reported. Neither the White House nor Kidan replied to requests for comment.But his Democratic challenger Bob Brooks's campaign told NOTUS they are livid as it fights to win a “toss-up” race, according to the report.“Three days after a convicted fraudster cut Ryan Mackenzie a massive campaign check, that same fraudster walked away with a presidential pardon," Brooks campaign manager Jenna Kaufman told NOTUS. "That is corruption in plain sight.”Kidan donated about $270,000 to Trump-affiliated committees during the 2024 election cycle and hosted fundraisers at Mar-a-Lago, according to the report.He pleaded guilty to federal charges of conspiracy and mail fraud in 2005."As part of his sentencing, Kidan and Abramoff were ordered to pay a total of $217 million in restitution," the report stated. "It’s unclear whether Kidan paid the full amount, and Trump’s pardon is likely to erase any remaining financial obligations."
Senate Judiciary Committee members will deliberate and vote on Thursday on acting Attorney General Todd Blanche, President Donald Trump’s nominee for the permanent position. Because the nominee lacks critical qualifications to serve as the nation’s chief law enforcement official, members should reject his nomination. Since March 2025, during Blanche’s tenure as deputy attorney general under […]
There are plenty of things I’ve never understood about the people who’ve chosen loyalty to Donald Trump over the United States of America. I don’t have the space to list every single reason he never should’ve been allowed to run again in 2020, let alone 2024, but let's remain in the present for now. Trump is so far gone at this point, both physically and mentally, that anyone with eyes can see it for themselves. And yet, there’s an entire political party keeping its head in the sand rather than admit to what we’ve all been subjected to for the last 11 years.I truly cannot comprehend how anyone is still proudly broadcasting their support for an obviously sundowning convicted felon adjudicated rapist who has vandalized Washington, D.C. to make America look as weak as possible on the global stage on our 250th birthday. The last week alone has provided multiple examples of why any remaining Trump loyalists need to somehow recover their pre-2015 memories and remind themselves of what the American president is supposed to represent. Friday’s shambolic appearance at the rescheduled White House Correspondents’ Dinner was just the latest example of what a global embarrassment Trump is, as well as how far the “legacy media” has fallen. When he wasn’t dozing off on the dais or doing a weird thing with his mouth that many people were saying is Adderall and/or cocaine related, Trump delivered another rambling speech that relied on his usual litany of bullying, bragging, and bull.A room full of journalists and other members of the media sat there and took more of his verbal abuse and lies instead of walking out on him. No one stood up and yelled “LIAR!”No one defended CNN’s Kaitlan Collins when Trump once again attacked her for not smiling, because he’s disgusting.It seemed that only Lone Wolf Blitzer was capable of telling the truth about Trump while standing right in front of him.We certainly can’t expect Jake Tapper to report on Donny Dementia’s deterioration, especially not after he begged Trump for another interview after chatting with him on CNN about Lindsey Graham’s death.Remember Lindsey Graham? Yeah, I also thought it was weird that Mitch McConnell didn’t issue a statement about his death.Anyway, the Republican Party of old would be reeling right now upon learning that their leader finally paid the woman he sexually abused and defamed the $5.6 million he’s owed her for the last three years, with interest. But their silence is their compliance, standing with an adjudicated rapist whose name appears in the Epstein Files at least 38,000 times, rather than incur his wrath in a social media post.This is how far our alleged leadership has fallen. They spend their time trying to out-bully each other on Twitter to please their molting MAGA masochist, lest he reveal whatever blackmail he has on all of them. We can blame Ronald Reagan for a lot of things when it comes to the present-day GOP. Still, I think it’s safe to say he wouldn’t have tolerated the thrice-married, philandering, five-time draft-dodging Epstein bestie Donald Trump as a candidate, let alone stood for him falling asleep behind the Resolute Desk. America is a joke on the global stage as the world watches this addled toddler fall and fail. Yet, no one stands up to the Cowardly Lyin’ fraud who bankrupted his own casinos in Atlantic City while laundering money for the Russian mob.It’s EXHAUSTING to be a thinking, caring person in a media landscape that avoids accountability out of fear of retaliation. Ooh, what’s he going to do, block you on Twitter, Peter Doocy? Even though that’s a violation of a citizen’s First Amendment rights?Oh wait, Trump doesn’t care about upholding the Constitution. Which I’ve known all along, but more specifically, since August 28, 2015, the day Trump blocked me on Twitter. Yea verily, the ultimate Twitter Badge of Honor. When Trump was first sued by the Knight-Columbia Institute in 2017 over multiple First Amendment violations on social media, it applied to anyone he blocked after he was inaugurated. But then they also decided that he should be forced to unblock anyone who’d been blocked when he was just a candidate and was still blocked. Including lil’ ol me, Dear Reader. I can’t say for sure how any of it went down, of course. But I like to imagine him sitting behind the then-empty Resolute Desk and being given a list of Twitter accounts to unblock, then begrudgingly unblocking them. “Fine,” he grumbles, going down the list, until he reaches my account. “Oh no, not that one!” Trump harrumphs, “She’s MEAN!”I’m blocked to this day, and I’m also blocked on his Instagram. That’s how petty this “POTUS*” actually is.I’m all of five feet tall, and I weigh maybe a buck five or six. If you passed me on the street, you’d clock me as a petite woman with a head of silver hair, and therefore not a threat. I like to say I’m reactive, because I don’t wake up every day wondering who I can piss off.
On Fox News, Donald Trump threatened to bomb all of Iran’s bridges and all of its power plants. Making this worse, Trump declared that his threat could leave all of Iran’s 91 million people without power. That may be the first time Trump has explicitly said this threat could apply to Iran’s entire population, which would constitute an extraordinary atrocity. Though Trump presented this as something he’d be reluctant to do, the key is he still confirmed it’s under consideration. Meanwhile, many MAGA figures are very upset about Trump’s new meeting with Benjamin Netanyahu, fearing it portends an escalation: As Steve Bannon put it, this is a “disaster for America First.” MAGA doesn’t care much about Iranians, but Trump’s escalation threats do rattle them for other reasons. We talked to former State Department official Emily Horne, author of the Spin Class Substack. We discuss the humanitarian horrors Trump is actually hinting at, what MAGA pressure on Trump means, and why the logic of the trap ensnaring Trump could lead to a terrible ending. Listen to this episode here.
