Columns, pieces and posts
Some thoughts on a climbdown for the ages. The reaction was widespread relief in America and the world. Americans want their country to be the world’s growth engine but not, as a former Reagan administration official put it, through policies “that risk the collapse of the global financial system.” Donald Trump scared people he hadn’t […]
In a news conference in Ottawa on March 27, Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney reacted to developments in what he called “the trade crisis” with the United States. President Trump, he said, had violated existing trade agreements by imposing on Canada “unjustified” tariffs. “We will respond forcefully. Nothing is off the table.” “We will fight […]
The Signal mess is a real mess, not something that will fade away quickly, because it’s one of those scandals that give the world a picture of a new administration. At just about this time in John F. Kennedy’s presidency (April 17-20, 1961) came the Bay of Pigs disaster, the failed invasion of Cuba by […]
Every big Trumpian news story, and there are five a day, is a dot in a pointillist painting. The whole picture hasn’t yet emerged but became fuller this week. The most powerful, in terms of implications, is in the courts. A federal district judge in Washington issued a temporary restraining order to pause deportation flights […]
At the height of its fabled Gilded Age he held a mirror up to America and said, “Not all so pretty, is it?” And the vital, burly citizens of that age peered in and felt shock. It was a distorted mirror, to be sure—the writer who created it was a leftist crusader with the soul […]
Democrats looked like fools Tuesday night. We don’t need to dwell on how they sat grim-faced, seething, or walked out while the president spoke. One stood, yelled, brandished his cane and was removed by the sergeant at arms. Others held up little paddles bearing little insults. Some wore special color-coded outfits. Almost all refused to […]
When you think aloud for a living you’re lately getting a lot of wry comments like “It must be hard to come up with a topic with nothing going on.” “It’s drinking from a fire hose,” the journalist will reply. Meanwhile, normal people are asking: He doesn’t really think he’s a king, right? I’ve grown […]
We aren’t in a constitutional crisis. If the administration takes an action, a court holds it unconstitutional, and President Trump defies the court, then we will enter a constitutional crisis. The president said this week he will obey all court orders as he did throughout his first administration, and appeal if necessary. But he said […]
I want to talk about a simple thing. It’s a preoccupation that came again to mind as I watched President Trump sign, in an East Room ceremony on Wednesday, the executive order ending federal funding for educational programs that mandate biological males be allowed to compete on girls’ or women’s sports teams. The mood in […]
I would like to point out a simple fact. A major and unnoticed part of Donald Trump’s power is that 100% of Americans know who “the president” is, including children above 5 and nonnative speakers. I base this on personal interactions with strangers of all sorts. Since I made up “100%” because there’s no way […]