Brendan Nyhan

No one would be confused about what is happening here if they saw it in another country.

This is a constitutional crisis: the President doesn't have the power to cancel funds appropriated by Congress. Also, the math is insane; there is NO way to cut $4B/day by getting rid of "fraud". Cuts of that magnitude will dangerously undermine the core functions of government.

Conservative budget wonks (Manhattan Instiutte, Tax Foundation) confirming that this is a consittutional crisis. Not liberal hysteria. Happening right now.

Trump is openly violating the law on a vast and unprecedented scale and everyone is acting like it's normal. NPR had a long story about finding a rare shrew. NYT said he was disregarding "legal niceties." This is an attack on the Constitution as profound as the attempt to overturn the 2020 election.

Just deranged. This was a *solved* problem.

The New York Times @nytimes.com

Robert F. Kennedy Jr. will direct federal health agencies to explore potential new treatments for measles as the U.S. faces its largest outbreak in 25 years. Experts fear the decision could have grave consequences, as studies show the existing vaccine is 97% effective in preventing infection.

RFK Jr. Orders Search for New Measles Treatments Instead of Urging Vaccination

Decades of research have turned up no miracle treatment for measles, but studies show the M.M.R. shot is 97 percent effective in preventing the disease.

An unelected, erratic, ketamine-addled billionaire with far right/white nationalist views has taken control of the personnel and payment systems of the United States government. Not an exaggeration, not hyperbole.

Very bad sign when masked, unidentified agents of the security state are not just grabbing people off the street but openly identifying with the regime's politics

"DOGE does not have power over established government agencies, and Musk has no role in government. It does not matter that he is an ally of the President. Musk is a private citizen taking control of established government offices. That is not efficiency; that is a coup."

A classic coordination failure: everyone makes excuses for why they go along with authoritarianism rather than resisting. And democracy and the rule of law crumble. We thought our institutions and culture were stronger, but we are following Hungary's path.

Kim Zetter @kimzetter.bsky.social

Former US ambassador to Hungary: "After years watching Hungary suffocate under the weight of its democratic collapse, I came to understand that the real danger of a strongman isn’t his tactics; it’s how others, especially those with power, justify their acquiescence." (h/t @bnovak.bsky.social)

Opinion | I Watched It Happen in Hungary. Now It’s Happening Here.

No one in DC can bargain in good faith with Trump because he will not follow laws passed by Congress.

No one internationally can bargain in good faith with Trump because he will not respect agreements made by the United States.

Being a counterparty just makes you a target for another shakedown.

I'm stunned. ICE attorneys not identifying themselves in COURT?

Zackary Berger שלום בערגער @drberger.bsky.social

In @theintercept.com, Debbie Nathan reports on ICE lawyers refusing to give their names in court - and immigration judges going along with it. theintercept.com/2025/07/15/i...

ICE Lawyers Are Hiding Their Names in Immigration Court

ICE attorneys fighting to deport immigrants are able to obscure their identities — no masks required.

In a free country, failing to comply with law enforcement does not give the state license to murder you

Aaron Rupar @atrupar.com

Homan on people getting killed by ICE: "It comes down to one simple fact -- these people failed to comply with law enforcement ... all they had to do is comply. If they did, they'd be alive today."

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Literally all he did was quote someone. Defining criticism of the government as treason is what authoritarians do. Turning a publicly funded news outlet into a state media propaganda machine is what authoritarians do.

Taniel @taniel.bsky.social

A Trump adviser said a Voice of America reporter was “treasonous.” Now the reporter has been put on leave, pending an investigation. And articles have been watered down to remove criticism of the president. www.nytimes.com/2025/02/28/b...

Voice of America Journalists Face Investigations for Comments About Trump

The broadcaster placed a longtime journalist on leave amid growing concerns about its editorial independence.

"Look at the picture... One of these is a member of a private militia that supports the President and was involved in a violent effort to overturn the election, the other is an agent of the state. Can you tell the difference?" donmoynihan.substack.com/p/purge-merg...

Any President who calls for the opposition party to be hanged should be immediately impeached and removed from office.

Aaron Rupar @atrupar.com

Trump calls for Democratic members of Congress to be hanged

Trump and Vance are part of the tiny percentage of Americans who sympathize more with Russia (4%) than Ukraine (62%) and who view Putin more favorably (75% unfavorable) than Zelensky (28% unfavorable) today.yougov.com/politics/art...

The country with the most sophisticated intelligence capabilities in the world, and the president is holding up
"a months-old blog post" from an obscure, conspiracy-mongering site "featuring a photo from the Democratic Republic of Congo" while making allegations against South Africa to its president

Bill McCarthy @billmccarthy.bsky.social

“Look, here's burial sites all over the place. These are all white farmers that are being buried,” Donald Trump said during today’s White House meeting with South Africa’s president. The image he was holding up, however, is of the Democratic Republic of Congo. www.barrons.com/news/trump-d...

Trump Displays DRC Visual As Proof Of South African 'Genocide'

US President Donald Trump brandished a stack of printed articles at the White House Wednesday that he claimed documented a genocide taking place against white people in South Africa.

"after the company's own analyses found that these classifiers could reduce the reach of these hoaxes by more than 90 percent, Meta is shutting them off"

Casey Newton @caseynewton.bsky.social

NEW: Meta has quietly dismantled the system that prevented misinformation from spreading in the United States. Machine-learning classifiers that once identified viral hoaxes and limited their reach have now been switched off, Platformer has learned www.platformer.news/meta-ends-mi...

This is illegal. These are crimes!

The last time he started talking like this, his allies minimized the risks and we ended up with January 6. This time we must take him literally and seriously. These comments are a five-alarm fire for democracy. In a functioning republic, he would be impeached and removed from office today.

Aaron Rupar @atrupar.com

Trump: "These people were brought to our country to vote, & they vote illegally. The Republicans should say, we should take over the voting in at least 15 places. The Republicans ought to nationalize the voting. We have states that I won that show I didn't win. You're gonna see something in Georgia"

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Unprecedented corruption

Ken Vogel @kenvogel.bsky.social

NEW: Trump accepted $37m worth of donated steel for his WH ballroom project from the Luxembourg-based company ArcelorMittal. Days later, the WH made adjustments to Trump's tariffs that could benefit ArcelorMittal.

White House Secures Foreign Steel for Ballroom Project

The president
-Is occupying a major city with armed paramilitiaries
-Is blackmailing treaty allies to hand over their sovereign territory
-Is trying to set himself up as chairman for life of a UN rival with $1B fees for permanent membership
-Is talking about canceling elections

An unprecedented violation of our civic and Constitutional traditions. Calling every military leader in the world back to the U.S. to hear a wildly inappropriate partisan campaign speech followed by a fascist call to use the military against Americans.