The Friday Brief

November 22, 2024

Inside: Matt Gaetz and Trump’s weaknesses, Pam Bondi, Hegseth’s sexual assault problem, Thanksgiving advice, angry Finns, Ad of the Week, What I’m Reading, and Scenes from the Home Front.

The Big Picture

As I wrote yesterday in Advice and Discontent, Trump isn’t invulnerable.

The cracks displayed by Matt Gaetz crashing and burning after even the most jaded MAGAe figured out he’s a degenerate reprobate who spent tens of thousands of dollars on underage hookers are real, and only the start.

I wrote this about why every setback matters when it comes to resisting Trump in the years ahead:

Think about how he is positioned in the minds of both his MAGA supporters, the Resistance, and the media. We tend to view him as having almost hypnotic control over his base and its elected members. They expect him to “Fight Fight Fight” and “Win win win” on every front. Their conception of Trump is that he cannot be beaten, ever, on anything.

In the opposition, we have a tendency to believe he’s bulletproof and we expect him to always skate out of trouble. In the most widespread media conception, he’s a newsworthy winner who winningly wins against hapless Democrats, time and again.

Suddenly, optics and political gravity still matter and exert their power.

We couldn’t beat him at the ballot box.

We are under no obligation to cooperate with his plans now, and in fact, as citizens, we have an obligation to oppose him at every turn.