Archives
Weekly Lists
Experts in authoritarianism advise to keep a list of things
subtly changing around you, so you’ll remember.
August 27, 2025
Week 42 — The Return
So much for what typically would be a slow news week in August. With Congress still on recess, this week it felt as if Trump was running the country on his own. He even mused at a half-day-long cabinet meeting about being a dictator! He certainly is increasingly acting like one, continuing a shocking and very public retribution campaign against his perceived enemies, taking control of D.C. and threatening other Democratic cities, and tightening his grip over the U.S. economy. I wrote more about how Trump is increasingly nationalizing our economy, akin to state-managed capitalism under authoritarian regimes, rather than a free market system, here.
August 20, 2025
Week 41 — The Return
This week we continue the storyline of Trump’s efforts to rewrite history and manipulate data to fit his narratives, both hallmarks of authoritarianism. Last week Bureau of Labor Statistics data was under siege; this week Trump’s U.S. Attorney in D.C. launched a probe into so-called manipulation of violent crime data in D.C., when reality of the data didn’t fit the justification for Trump’s coup of the city’s law enforcement. Trump also continued his unprecedented actions to rewrite history at the Smithsonian, which is supposed to be an independent entity, threatening a process similar to the regime’s ongoing investigations of colleges and universities.
August 13, 2025
Week 40 — The Return
What strikes me most this week is not the number of broken norms, but the nature of what Trump is getting away with. This week he assumed control of the nation’s capital; ordered a mid-decade census amid mid-decade gerrymandering; shook up the way the federal government collects job data; and unilaterally imposed an export tax on two U.S. chip companies that amounted to extortion. Even the conservative Wall Street Journal Editorial Board noted that Trump was “expanding the long arm of the state into more of the private economy,” and mused, “Will any Republican object? Alas, probably not.”
August 06, 2025
Week 39 — The Return
Noteworthy this week is that several of the most important stories received little media coverage and attention. Part of this is the continued gutting of U.S. journalism, not only in our public broadcasting, but also in mastheads taken private by billionaires. For example, the Washington Post, an important source of breaking stories about the first Trump regime, has been rendered a shell of itself by owner Jeff Bezos. We are also being continually bombarded with news and crazy antics, even in the slow summer month of August with Congress on recess. At times, the Trump regime seems to float lawless ideas, until the media catches wind, reports on it, and then suddenly the moves are reversed. That happened twice this week.
July 30, 2025
Week 38 — The Return
This week, the Epstein Files scandal continued to dominate the news, despite Trump and his regime’s best efforts to distract with shiny coins and conspiracy theories. Trump didn’t help himself much in the effort to change the subject, and he continued to bring up the topic while visiting Scotland. Notably, in Scotland he showcased his golf courses while conducting presidential business, something that in the first regime would have gotten much more attention but now seemingly has been normalized.
July 23, 2025
Week 37 — The Return
This week the Epstein files, which have turned into the biggest scandal of Trump’s second regime, continued to be front and center. As I wrote in my Substack article here, up until now, Trump has been extremely successful at throwing shiny coins to distract and change the subject. This scandal marks his first failure to control the narrative.
July 16, 2025
Week 36 — The Return
This week, Trump continued to consolidate power within his regime, even as public opinion and parts of his MAGA base turned against him on key issues. On Trump’s signature issue, immigration, public opinion has turned sharply against him, with just 35% approving. Notably, the country is experiencing a broad shift in attitudes on immigration, with nearly 8 in 10 Americans now saying it is a good thing (I wrote more about this here). More than 6 in 10 Americans disapprove of Trump’s signature legislation passed in Week 35.
July 09, 2025
Week 35 — The Return
This week we are seeing the impacts of Trump’s staffing cuts and selection of unqualified sycophants to run federal agencies. Tragedy struck in Texas, as flooding caused by a storm in Kerr County claimed more than 100 lives, with at least 173 still missing five days later. Questions arose about Trump’s and Elon Musk’s DOGE’s cuts to agencies and departments, as well as their current leadership. Also this week, the country hit another tragic milestone, as the U.S. measles outbreak climbed to a 33-year high, a reversal for a disease that was previously considered to be eliminated.
July 02, 2025
Week 34 — The Return
This week was a lot! The week opened with debate over Trump’s attack on Iran front and center, as increasing evidence came forward (I wrote more here) that the strikes did not in fact “obliterate” Iran’s nuclear sites. Trump and his regime sought to change and control the narrative on Iran by attacking the media, and calling those who questioned the outcome various forms of unpatriotic. Trump’s ‘big, beautiful’ and very unpopular tax bill passed the Senate, 51–50, as details emerged that it would balloon the national debt by $3.3 trillion, benefit the top 20% of earners, harm the bottom 20%, and kick at least 17 million Americans off of Medicaid. Two Republicans who were against the bill, and have stood up to Trump and been the target of his threats, said they would not seek re-election in 2026. Meanwhile, with one week to go until July 9, the end date of Trump’s 90-day tariff pause, not a single deal has been finalized. With all this happening, he harkened back to ole faithful, immigration, with a trip to Florida’s hastily constructed ‘’Alligator Alcatraz,’ to change the subject to his comfort zone, even as his polling numbers on immigration continue to fall.
June 25, 2025
Week 33 — The Return
The biggest story of this week is Trump potentially taking us to war, after ordering strikes on Iran. I have urged readers of my Substack to follow the facts, and maintain a healthy amount of skepticism, because on face value, and knowing Trump’s patterns, a lot of things we have been told initially do not make sense.