Archives
Weekly Lists
Experts in authoritarianism advise to keep a list of things
subtly changing around you, so you’ll remember.
October 07, 2026
Week 100 — The Return
With one month left until midterms, as polls continued to show Trump’s approval falling and Republican candidates behind, Trump deployed a new strategy: attempting to buy votes, by sending checks to millions of Americans and enrolling tens of millions of children in Trump accounts. Trump also held a series of campaign rallies, many in deep red states; yet while the script of lies and misinformation stayed the same, the crowds were paltry compared to 2024, as the practical realities of Trump’s deeply unpopular war and policies led to higher prices and rates.
September 30, 2026
Week 99 — The Return
“The creatures outside looked from pig to man, and from man to pig, and from pig to man again; but already it was impossible to say which was which.” — Animal Farm.
September 23, 2026
Week 98 — The Return
This week, amid mounting political losses and sagging polls, Trump struck out at a frequent and familiar target, the free press. In an unprecedented act, Trump banned three media outlets from the White House. When the networks banded against his clear violation of the First Amendment, Trump and his regime clumsily rolled out a version of state-television, Trump TV, another first, that immediately flopped. Timing for Trump’s abrupt stunt could not have been worse, with the United Nations General Assembly and an upcoming visit with China’s president on the schedule.
September 16, 2026
Week 97 — The Return
This was a crazy week of alarming broken norms. There are so many important, concurrent themes that deserve attention as we pass 50 days until the midterm elections mark, it’s breathtaking! Please take the time to read this list in its entirety.
September 09, 2026
Week 96 — The Return
This week, as we passed Labor Day and head into the final stretch before midterms, Trump and his regime were frantically trying to find ways to impact voting. The regime filed two emergency applications with the Supreme Court, and ginned up involvement of federal agencies, including continual attempts to prove Trump’s baseless claims of widespread voter fraud, and efforts to have a presence at polling places on Election Day.
September 02, 2026
Week 95 — The Return
This was one of the longest lists of broken norms during Trump’s second regime, despite it being late August, with Congress still out of session. I encourage you all to read through the list in its entirety, because there are so many important, shocking, and disturbing subplots all at once — the U.S. is at great risk both internally and externally.
After another senior military departure, the U.S. Army finds itself without a single Senate-confirmed civilian or military leader, at a time when the country is stuck in an endless war with Iran. Reporting indicates a mix of poor planning and mismanagement has left the U.S. homeland and our forces abroad at risk, with munition stockpiles low. Trump continued his strange bromance with Russia, even as Russia directly aided Iran, and Russian President Vladimir Putin openly encouraged other countries to challenge the U.S. — it is simply inexplicable.
August 26, 2026
Week 94 — The Return
This week Trump continued his inexplicable targeting of what were formerly some of the strongest U.S. allies, while coddling and cozying up to former adversaries. In what the WSJ Editorial Board dubbed “the dumbest trade war,” Trump escalated tensions with Canada, including threats to rename Lake Ontario to Lake America, while Vice President JD Vance mused that “Canada is a state.” Unlike during his first regime and earlier in his second, now countries are pushing back against his antics rather than being bullied into submission.
August 19, 2026
Week 93 — The Return
In a relatively quiet summer week, with Congress out of session, Trump pushed forward on his personal agenda, while the issues impacting most Americans got left by the wayside.
August 12, 2026
Week 92 — The Return
This week, as Trump’s failures mounted and his polling continued to fall, he tried a new tactic ahead of midterms: blame the Republicans. In an interview, he bragged that he had “already won” his race, and said of the American people’s discontent, “They’re angry at Republicans, but they’re not angry at me.” The shift seemed to be a tacit acknowledgment of what lies ahead on November 3, and Trump preemptively looking to shift the blame.
August 05, 2026
Week 91 — The Return
This week Trump finds himself hitting all sorts of unenviable records for lowest approval, least public support for a war, and lowest approval on economic issues, even as midterm elections are now just three months away. Trump dismissed the polls as fake — a tactic he used during his first regime — but there is also a vast difference in his sentiment and approach this go-round. In his second regime, Trump does not seem to care about his polling data or Republican losses; rather, he has other priorities.