A lot of things happened. Here are some of the things. This is TPM’s Morning Memo. Sign up for the email version.
Finding Some Method To The Madness
Since the election, Morning Memo has deviated a bit from its core mission of making sense of the day’s news for you simply because it’s too soon and too fluid to offer cogent analysis that ties it all together. Or at least it’s beyond my abilities to do so.
We’ve been at similar points of flux in past presidential transitions and during other big upheavals in the news environment. When things get too fast and furious to make sense of, I revert to basic principles of inquiry: Who? What? When? Where? How? Why? Recent Morning Memos have focused more on those raw facts as a way to begin to make sense of things and less on weaving them together into a coherent whole.
While that helps to narrow the focus some, it’s still quite a bit broader than usual and less focused than I prefer. Some days have brought such a torrent of new facts that it’s been hard to differentiate things for you in a meaningful way. This isn’t an excuse or an apology. It’s an acknowledgement of the current news environment and the challenges it poses to our cognition and comprehension.
As I told my colleagues when we were all together in NYC last week, this intensely unsettled transition period will come to a close in two to three months and things will settle down some. But it’s still a Trump presidency, and it has the hallmarks of being at least as chaotic, confused, and unsettling as his first term.
I suspect Morning Memo will gradually return to a more differentiated slice of the news with each passing week, but I hope you don’t feel the need for me to rush or force it. There’s value in observing before assessing. Things will play out as they play out. Pretending to understand more than we do or forcing explanations on events won’t change that.
With all that said, I think we had a pretty good handle going into the election on what the major themes of the Trump II presidency would be and nothing so far has suggested those expectations were amiss.
The Three Horseman Of The Trump II Apocalypse
The three central themes of Trump II for Morning Memo, and for TPM more broadly, are shaping up to be: retribution, corruption, and destruction.
Those play off of and reinforce each other in fascinating and alarming ways, but they each represent a different slice of what Trump has promised, has begun to deliver, and seems likely to continue to be animated by throughout his term.
If you look back over the last two weeks of post-election Morning Memos, you’ll see that they are largely organized around these three themes. We’ll continue to use them as a prism through which to understand what is happening, how to think about it, and why the old constructs of political journalism in particular are not entirely up to the challenge of covering Trump II.
Gaetz Combined Retribution, Corruption, And Destruction
What stood out most about the now-withdrawn nomination of Matt Gaetz for attorney general was that it combined all three of the elements that most drive Trump’s animus.
Taking over the Justice Department and installing as attorney general an ostentatiously unqualified loyalist who himself had been the subject until last year of federal criminal investigation was itself destructive of the rule of law, the traditions and customs of the Justice Department as an institution, and the ethical precepts of the legal profession more broadly.
Using Gaetz to weaponize the Justice Department against Trump’s political foes, perceived enemies, and anyone else who got in his way was the promised retribution against the “Deep State,” including the investigators, prosecutors, Biden administration officials, and others.
The entire endeavor was undertaken with corrupt intent, and that was mirrored in its execution and in the anticipated rewards that succeeding in it might offer. Instead of the usual background checks for nominees like Gaetz, Trump bypassed the FBI, in whose own files lay the details of its investigation of Gaetz for allegedly paying for sex, using illicit drugs, and sexually abusing a minor. Installing Gaetz at DOJ would have served to protect Trump (though the Roberts Supreme Court has already effectively immunized him) and his entire power base from legal consequence. It would have deeply corrupted the rule of law and its fair and even application across the entire range of legal issues DOJ has a hand in, which is vast.
But this isn’t about Matt Gaetz. This is about Donald Trump. Every single thing I just outlined remains true whether it’s Gaetz or Pam Bondi, his replacement as attorney general nominee, or whoever else runs DOJ for Trump.
The Old Coverage Tropes Don’t Apply Here
Analyzing the Gaetz withdrawal in terms of what it means for Trump politically, what it says about the power of Senate Republicans (welcome to the resistance, Mitch McConnell), or what it portends for Bondi’s confirmation prospects misses the point on so many levels it all collapses into a heap of outdated presumptions and myopia.
Even the very anti-Trump analysis that I have seen most often the past few days – he’s nominating a clown like Gaetz in order to sacrifice him and sneak through a still-deeply-unqualified candidate for AG, like a Bondi – falls short of the mark.
Trump wants to use the Justice Department as a centerpiece of his retribution, corruption, and destruction jihad. It doesn’t much matter who is the figurehead for that effort. The fact that it will no longer be Gaetz doesn’t dramatically change the analysis. Trump is the problem. The president-elect is the source, instigator, and prime mover of the malfeasance.
For all of these reasons, the old confirmation dance for cabinet nominees – and the news coverage it drives – has no real salience with Trump in office. Is it better that Gaetz was blocked? Sure, okay. Can we celebrate that as a win? Have at it. Does it change the nature or the seriousness of the threat that Trump poses to the Justice Department, the rule of law, and the constitutional order? Not even a little bit.
Grading On A Steep Curve
Former Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi has her own issues:
Now It’s Hegseth’s Turn In The Barrel
- WSJ: Trump Team Blindsided by Details of Sexual-Assault Allegation Against Hegseth
- Politico: ‘Profound fear and anxiety among women in uniform’: Pentagon reacts to allegations against Hegseth
- WaPo: Senate Republicans are more receptive to Hegseth despite Gaetz’s exit
- Idaho Capital Sun: Trump’s Defense secretary nominee has close ties to Idaho Christian nationalists
A First In U.S. History?
TPM’s Khaya Himmelman, digging in on the GOP power grab in North Carolina:
David Becker, the executive director and founder of the nonpartisan Center for Election Innovation and Research, emphasized to TPM that he is not aware of “any state in American History that has given this important authority to a state auditor’s office.”
How Bad Was Salt Typhoon?
“The Chinese government espionage campaign that has deeply penetrated more than a dozen U.S. telecommunications companies is the ‘worst telecom hack in our nation’s history — by far,’ said Sen. Mark R. Warner (D-Virginia), chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee.” –WaPo
Iceland Erupts, Part X
The latest in an ongoing series of eruptions is underway on Iceland’s Reykjanes Peninsula:
Video: watch as #lava inundates Blue Lagoon car park pic.twitter.com/fBDvEuaDUK
— RÚV English (@RuvEnglish) November 21, 2024
Enjoy Your Weekend!
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More like three horses’ asses of the apocalypse.
Weasel:
And don’t forget - Supreme Court tryouts are in session.
@DavidKurtz, I really appreciate the way you craft the morning memos. The 3 horsemen approach works for me, as does observing. We all just have to wait and see. Your long-term vision, as opposed to hot takes, keeps me coming back to TPM every day.
Hindsight is always 20/20. Now we actually have to do some party building. Being a member of a party is not being the passive recepient of a PR campaign.
That dosent look like Trump.