Trumpscrolling
I’d managed to go a couple of months without spending too much time dwelling on the current resident of the Oval Office—as opposed to the wider hellscape he’s created—to the point where I didn’t get around to posting a bunch of links I’d collected about U.S. politics last month. But now we’ve had a week where stories about Trump sabotaging the first debate with Biden, his tax records showing him paying $750 in income tax in 2017 and strongly suggesting money laundering, him testing positive for coronavirus, evidence that he knew about his diagnosis for days before announcing it, and now his risky and manic behaviour while on medication, have created a screaming video-wall of distraction when he’s the last person I want to think about.
It’s possible that this time next week Trump will be permanently out of the picture. It’s possible that he’ll recover, but remain unwell. It’s possible he’ll recover completely and laugh it off. Whatever happens, his corruption of American democracy will remain. Personally, especially given the high likelihood of political chaos if he dies, I’d like to see him stick around for long enough to lose resoundingly in November and face the consequences of years of tax-dodging and grift, let alone the racism and misogyny, but whether or not he survives Covid there’s no guarantee of a Biden victory, thanks to Republican efforts to suppress and gerrymander the vote. American democracy itself is about to spend months in ICU.
Here are the best of the links I’d gathered before last month and over this month past.
Why every year feels like the worst ever.
The truth is paywalled but the lies are free.
I lived through collapse. America is already there.
What if Trump refuses to concede?
The Republican Party embraces “kill the libs” as policy.
Federal law enforcement use unmarked vehicles to grab protesters off Portland streets.
A whistleblower reveals mass hysterectomies at an ICE facility.
Evangelicals looking for answers online are finding QAnon instead.
How the Trump campaign deterred millions of Black Americans from voting in 2016.
Facebook ignored global political manipulation.
Mark Zuckerberg’s apology tour hasn’t fixed Facebook.
Democrats indulge lavish patriotism, too.
Fame gave Trump a $427 million lifeline.
How Trump launders money through his golf courses.
Some petty, embarrassing grievances about Trump’s taxes.
What was Trump talking about in the debate?
“People are losing their minds.”