A cartoon by Mick Stevens.

See more cartoons from this week’s issue: newyorkermag.visitlink.me/Fgj9Rj

The Takeaways from a 2026 Trump Deep Dive Anatomy of a devastating WSJ story -- and its larger implications.

"the first rule of the madman theory is to never say that you’re employing the madman theory"

(substack.com/home/post/p-...)

Trump threatens to fire Fed chair as criminal probe dims outlook of his departure Jerome Powell has said he'll remain in the post until the investigation over expensive renovations at Fed properties is concluded.

What does it say about someone who is willing to serve as the next fed chair when this is happening to the current chair? www.nbcnews.com/politics/don...

"The election results is not final yet, but it is understandble and clear. The election result is painful for us, but clear. The responsibility and possibility of governing was not given to us. I have congratulated the winner," Orbán said.

Trump may wind up doing a big favor to Orban's legacy, just as he has done for GW Bush: Orban could end up being remembered as honest, fair, sane, and grounded **in comparison to Trump**. A statement like this will not ever be uttered by Trump:

Democrats call for Trump’s removal over threat against Iran A wave of Democrats on Tuesday called to remove President Trump from office over his threats against Iran ahead of an 8 p.m. EDT Tuesday deadline for Tehran to cut a deal and reopen the Strait of H…

thehill.com/homenews/hou...

in persian culture, telling someone "we're going to kill you all" is considered deeply offensive

Trump’s promise to commit massive war crimes unfortunately makes him unique in American history only in terms of how transparent his communication is

I hope Kinzinger is right. But given the way the current cabinet and entire administration appear to work, I don't think we can rule out the possibility of imminent horror. (Not minimizing what has already happened. And yet it could still get much worse.)

‘Unhinged madman’: US politicians react to Trump’s expletive-laden threat to Iran Marjorie Taylor Greene and Bernie Sanders among those responding with alarm to Trump writing ‘open the fuckin’ strait, you crazy bastards’

Amazing what a year can do:

Marjorie Taylor Greene, a former staunch ally turned Trump critic, said everyone in the Trump administration who claims to be a Christian needs to “beg forgiveness from God” and intervene in the president’s “madness”.

www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026...

A spread of today’s New York Times. My story about science replication is on the left. A story about a FEMA official claiming he has teleported to a Waffle House is on the right, complete with skeptical quote from a physicist

My story on science replication is in today’s print New York Times. The juxtaposition is interesting…

Bild Ist Donald Trump ein Sexmonster? Wahl 2016

Spiegel »Die Republikaner haben ein Naziproblem« US-Präsident Trump verwandelt Rassismus, Sexismus, Korruption und Demokratieverachtung in Tugenden, sagt der Journalist Tom Nichols. Die Republikaner hält er für politisch und moralisch ausgehöhlt. Ein Interview von Martin Pfaffenzeller 04.04.2026, 09.39 Uhr

New York Times: How Trump-Kennedy alliance is pushing thr boundaries of public health

New York Times: Legally creative, democratically dangerous: Trump's plan to twist the news Feb. 24, 2026

Untranslated headlines in German are much clearer than New York Times headlines in English

I dunno. Robert Reich's take looks pretty accurate to me. robertreich.substack.com/p/bye-bye-bo...?

And that doesn't even include the Middle East

NY Times has not been great on Trump since 2016. But this set of headlines, all on the same landing page, is pretty remarkable.

This pledge to commit war crimes is a deliberate attempt to escalate a war the US chose to start, is abhorrent, and in a more just world would result in prosecution.

Elon Musk Just Endorsed Blatant White Nationalism And the Silence is Deafening On Thursday morning Elon Musk retweeted (with a ‘100%’ endorsement) a post declaring that: If white men become a minority, we will be slaughtered. Remember, if non-Whites openly hate White men while...

Yesterday Elon Musk retweeted "white solidarity is the only way to survive". In our numb overwhelmed media environment it barely made headlines that the world's richest man endorsed blood-curdling white nationalism. My brief writeup for @religiondispatches.org

religiondispatches.org/elon-musk-ju...

I'm not a lawyer but it seems like there is a real incentive problem when the federal government decides it doesn't have to follow the law.

There really ought to be a penalty of some kind when the federal government routinely loses cases on the same issue. If you robbed 50 people and got caught 45 times, and the only penalty for getting caught was having to return the money, it would be in everyone's interest to rob people all the time.

Remind us- what do Republicans think should happen to immigrants who commit fraud?

We’ll hang up and listen

Yes. This is transparently the plan. It is a destructive and unconstitutional plan. And it can be stopped. It can even be turned into an electoral issue that hurts Trump. But only if we face this now.

"It is highly unusual for an otherwise healthy 41-year-old man to die less than a day after being taken into government custody,"

He was certainly afraid of Vietnam-style combat in Vietnam.

Maybe people are used to this sort of thing. But we shouldn't be.

the plan, such as it is, appears to be “bomb a country of 90 million people that is already facing a water crisis into a failed state, walk away and declare victory”

this is a monstrous nightmare regardless of whether or not it “works”

Trump added the “heavy and pinpoint bombing” will continue “uninterrupted throughout the week or, as long as necessary to achieve our objective of PEACE THROUGHOUT THE MIDDLE EAST AND, INDEED, THE WORLD!”

Then we’ll ingest up as much heroin and alcohol as needed to achieve absolute sobriety.

The imperial presidency was a mistake. It has led to destruction of clean air and water, mass death abroad, destruction of cancer research, and now illegal war.

We must re-empower Congress, the most democratic branch, and a strong civil service. We can. But that will require Supreme Court reform.

Our Congress: The guy holding the sign saying "Black people aren't apes" gets ejected. The guy who posted a video depicting the Obamas as apes gets welcomed with a standing ovation.

A Fatal ICE Shooting Occurred in Texas Months Before Renee Good’s Killing

This case is insane:

ICE shot and killed a citizen last March then *hid it for a year.*

The young man they killed had no criminal history.

All we know about shooting is from internal ICE docs.

We don't know officers' names.

We don't have footage.

www.nytimes.com/2026/02/20/u...