The Day Trump Became Un-President

“We’re so back,” one reporter whispered to another. All of the chairs in the White House briefing room were filled, and reporters and photographers were crammed into every available nook and cranny. I was standing in the back, squeezed in between a window and a none-too-pleased Secret Service agent. The sight was reminiscent of the COVID briefings of 2020: President Donald Trump gripping the sides of the lectern in the White House briefing room, pursing his lips as he looked out at the journalists yelling and jockeying for his attention.…

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How Donald Trump Became Unbeatable

Not too long ago, Donald Trump looked finished. After the January 6 attack on the Capitol, the repeal of Roe v. Wade, and a poor Republican showing in the 2022 midterms, the GOP seemed eager to move on from the former president. The post–Trump era had supposedly begun. Just one week after the midterms, he entered the 2024 race, announcing his candidacy to a room of bored-looking hangers-on. Even his children weren’t there. Security had to pen people in to keep them from leaving during his meandering speech. Today, thanks…

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How Conspiracy Theories Became More Personal, More Cruel And More Mainstream After The Sandy Hook Shootings

<p class=”is-style-sans-serif”><em>This article is part of&nbsp;<a href=”https://talkingpointsmemo.com/cafe”>TPM Cafe</a>, TPM’s home for opinion and news analysis. It first appeared at&nbsp;<a href=”https://theconversation.com/how-conspiracy-theories-in-the-us-became-more-personal-more-cruel-and-more-mainstream-after-the-sandy-hook-shootings-172015″>The Conversation</a>.</em></p> <p>Conspiracy theories are powerful forces in the U.S. They have damaged public health amid a global pandemic, shaken faith in the democratic process and <a href=”https://abcnews.go.com/US/qanon-emerges-recurring-theme-criminal-cases-tied-us/story?id=75347445″>helped spark</a> a violent assault on the U.S. Capitol in January 2021.</p> <p>These conspiracy theories are part of a dangerous misinformation crisis that has been building for years in the U.S.</p> <p>American politics has long had a <a href=”https://harpers.org/archive/1964/11/the-paranoid-style-in-american-politics/”>paranoid streak</a>, and belief in conspiracy…

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