“Was it all bullshit?” the world’s biggest bullshit artist reportedly asked.
Now that Elon Musk is out the door, Trump aides are telling the Wall Street Journal, that Trump was “skeptical” of Musk’s hallucinatory budget cuts.
“Was it all bullshit?” Trump asked, according to administration officials, wondering whether Musk could have ever come close to the cuts he promised to carry out through the Department of Government Efficiency.
The episode captured the flashes of skepticism and frustration from Trump and his senior aides over Musk’s rocky four-month tenure in government, with spats spilling out in the Middle East, cabinet meetings and occasionally in the Oval Office, according to people familiar with the matter. And they reflected the broader exasperation over roadblocks that have slowed Musk’s efforts, from court challenges to bureaucratic delays.
This, my friends is what is known as revisionist history. We are, after all, talking about a president who pops macro-doses of delusion daily, and who positively wallows in bravado, bullshit, and buncombe. But Trump is also quick to discard allies like soiled Kleenexes when they are no longer useful.
Which brings us to today’s conversation.
On today’s “To the Contrary” Podcast, historian Julian Zelizer joins me to discuss Donald Trump’s break with other former bros, including the Federalist Society and what it signals about a second Trump term. We talk about Friday’s Musk-as-druggie story and explore Congress’s decision to turn itself into a Constitutional Potted Plant.
We also dive into Trump’s jihad against higher education and our looming brain drain crisis (which I’m going to write about more extensively in tomorrow’s newsletter).
You can watch or listen right here or on YouTube / Listen (and subscribe) on Apple/ Spotify / iHeart / RSS Feed.
Nota Bene
“The Unconstitutional Conservatives” — by Peter Wehner, The Atlantic [GIFT LINK]
Not too long ago, many Republicans proudly referred to themselves as “constitutional conservatives.” They believed in the rule of law; in limiting the power of government, especially the federal government; in protecting individual liberty; and in checks and balances and the separation of powers. They opposed central planning and warned about emotions stirred up by the mob and the moment, believing, as the Founders did, that the role of government was to mediate rather than mirror popular passions. They recognized the importance of self-restraint and the need to cultivate public and private virtues. And they had reverence for the Constitution, less as a philosophical document than a procedural one, which articulated the rules of the road for American democracy….
WHICH IS WHY it’s hard to think of a more anti-conservative figure than President Donald Trump or a more anti-conservative movement than MAGA. Trump and his supporters evince a disdain for laws, procedures, and the Constitution. They want to empower the federal government in order to turn it into an instrument of brute force that can be used to reward allies and destroy opponents.
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Trump Says ‘Don’t Feel So Sorry’ For ‘Vicious’ Biden After Cancer Diagnosis
This story should be getting more coverage, don’t you think?
“If you feel sorry for him, don't feel so sorry, because he's vicious. What he did with his political opponent and all of the people that he hurt—he hurt a lot of people, Biden, so I really don't feel sorry for him.”
Some highlights of our conversation
Sunday dogs
Auggie surveys his kingdom.
There are, of course, balls to be thrown.
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