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On the one hand, Trump is, in the words of Ben Mathis-Lilley, “the most prominent wingnut (and loser) in American politics.” On the other hand, if you examine his individual policy positions of late, a strange pattern emerges: Trump is taking positions that put him to the left of his primary GOP opponents on a number of issues. What’s going on here? Mathis-Lilley has some educated guesses.
Plus: Dahlia Lithwick and Michael Podhorzer look at how Democrats have upheld political norms and Republicans have violated them in recent years. “Why is this happening?” they ask “Is it that the Democrats are virtuous and the Republicans hypocrites? Or that Republicans are strategic and Democrats are fools? They suggest a more useful way of thinking about it.
About strange despair
Illustration by Anjali Kamat
In the midst of the attack on LGBTQ+ rights, many do not want to face the emotion that governs this moment. Evan Urquhart writes about why it’s so important not to look away from queer despair.
WSJ, WTF
The Wall Street Journal did a curious thing last night: It pre-emptively published an opinion piece by a US Supreme Court justice defending itself against a journalistic investigation that hadn’t come out yet. Ben Mathis-Lilley breaks down what happened and pokes holes in Justice Samuel Alito’s tortured logic.
Shady Ron
Ronny D seems to be playing it fast and loose with campaign finance laws! Alexander Sammon examines the Florida governor’s mind-boggling relationship with his super PACs.
Really, New York?!
Photo illustration by Slate. Photo by Spencer Platt/Getty Images.
Luke Winkie got a ticket for riding his bike on the sidewalk for, like, two blocks at most. Come with him as he contemplates the mercurial chaos of traffic justice.
Plus: Dan Kois explains how an e-bike changed his life, and one could change yours too!
Race against time
Why is it so hard to look away from the story of the submarine lost at sea? Shannon Palus thoughtfully unpacks the layered feelings that coverage evokes.
Killer Mike’s Church
Photo illustration by Slate. Image without ID
To mark the release of Killer Mike’s new solo album, Jack Hamilton traces his unlikely journey from underground hero to controversial activist and forty-year-old superstar.
Apart from Anita
In the season finale of Slow Burn: Becoming Justice Thomas, Joel Anderson takes us to the confirmation hearing. Go behind the scenes of what happened, and what didn’t happen, hearing from some of the women who were ready to testify about their old boss’s behavior but were never called to the stand. Listen here or wherever you have your podcasts.
Today, Slate is… * SOMETIMES “JUMP”
Hey, whatever you want to call us, we don’t care! Google (or your search engine of choice) will probably get you right to Slate dot com.
But if you’re wondering why.your.searches.all.look.like.this.all of a sudden, Dan Kois is here to shed some light on the crazy iPhone keyboard design that’s probably fooling you.
Thank you so much for reading! See you tomorrow.
