Voters knew Trump is a violent racist

In the wake of the horror show Donald Trump has unleashed on Los Angeles, liberals are rehashing a debate that comes up after every Trump atrocity: is this what his voters wanted or were they tricked? After a decade of the man’s sociopathy on display, this feels like a dumb question, but the argument is that his voters believed he was only going after criminals, not law-abiding immigrants. 

Sorry, but the RNC was on TV and everyone saw the “mass deportations now” signs. During his debate with Kamala Harris, Trump falsely accused legal Haitian immigrants of eating cats. Most of his voters share his racist views. They’re just too embarrassed to say so to a reporter or too cowardly to own up to what white nationalism means now that it’s in practice. 

Gavin learns a hard lesson about MAGA

In the aftermath of the election, California Gov. Gavin Newsom was at the front of that shameful pack of Democrats making noises about making nice with MAGA. He brought hateful bigots like Charlie Kirk on his podcast and presented them as well-meaning guys worthy of praise. But if he thought playing footsie with fascists would help him, it did the opposite. Instead, they saw it as a sign of weakness, and I suspect is one reason Trump thought he could push Newsom around by instigating violence, first through ICE and now the National Guard. 

Newsom is talking tough now, though his claims he’s ready to be arrested fall flat when he’s suing instead of standing in the streets with protesters. But he does seem furious with Trump, who he called a liar. Which, duh! 2016 called Newsom, and they want their discoveries back.

I hope the lesson sticks this time: If you play nice with MAGA, they reward you by spitting in your face. We saw this with Columbia, who gave into Trump, only to have him escalate his unreasonable and racist demands. Or the big law firms who bribed Trump with pro bono offers, only to have him demand they defend his illegal actions in court — which is leading to a loss of clients and talented lawyers. Trump reneges on every deal he makes as soon as he can. It’s the most predictable thing about him, besides that he will whine into every microphone offered. 

Hopefully, it’s too late for Newsom’s political career to recover. But other Democrats should pay attention. You can’t compromise with people who want to destroy you. You can only beat them. 

Support the progressive journalism you trust. Become a Salon member today!

Musk will submit to Trump

As I’m sure is true of most newsletter readers, I was munching on popcorn while watching the very public spat between Donald Trump and Elon Musk last week. But, as entertained as I was, I knew pretty quickly that Musk was going to lose this fight decisively, as soon as Musk tweeted, “Trump is in the Epstein files.”

Now, this is not true for the most slender of reasons: there are no “Epstein files.” Outside of a few personal details about some victims, everything else about the case has been publicly available for a long time. That’s how we know Jeffrey Epstein was as close as Trump ever got to having a friend, and that Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell treated Mar-a-Lago staff as a source of victims. Musk is grasping at this straw when it’s already well-established that Trump voters don’t care. Sure sign he’s out of cards. 

That was confirmed over the weekend, when Musk deleted the Epstein tweet. Here’s the thing: when people say Musk is the richest man in the world, it’s not because his money is all in cash. Most of it is in the wildly overvalued stock he owns in his companies, like Tesla and SpaceX. Tesla’s already fallen stock fell even further because of this feud. And if Trump yanked Musk’s government contracts, even more of Musk’s wealth would vanish.  

Still, this fight was a great thing. It weakens both men, even if Musk takes the bigger hit. Considering Musk’s reported drug use, I’m guessing he’ll struggle to stop himself at some point from flipping out on X again. But even without that, real damage has been done to the fragile Trump coalition — and this is a huge help in derailing Trump’s economy-wrecking budget bill.

Join the conversation: Comments are open for subscribers!

Click the speech bubble icon to leave a comment or click the heart to like this post.

What we're reading this week

“What the Fastest-Growing Christian Group Reveals About America,” Molly Worthen, Atlantic

“Why Is Pete Hegseth Going to War Against Harvey Milk 47 Years After He Was Assassinated?” Peter Dreier, Talking Points Memo

“This Clash With Trump Is Going to End Poorly for Elon Musk,” Ross Barkan, New York

“What the ‘Men Are Falling Behind’ Panic Is Really About,” Katie Jgln, The Noösphere

Forwarded this email? Get Standing Room Only in your inbox twice a week.

“The Good In Everyone” by Sloan

Our Culture, Clarified—Every Week

Every week, 1440 hands knowledge-seekers a guided tour through a single social current. We stitch together history, data, and expert voices so you don’t just witness change—you understand it. One concise, fact-first read turns surface headlines into the deeper “why” that satisfies your curiosity and keeps your worldview expanding.

Join For Free Today

/