News organisations need to be unflinching in their use of strong language to describe Trump. Too often we have normalised the abnormal. Mea culpa. I did it myself at the BBC and often came up against institutional timidity. My weekend read.
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“Jesus of Mar-a-Lago” and the questions it raises for the media. With some lessons that I learnt from covering Trump 1.0.
My latest at History Never Ended.
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From Rocky to Rock of Ages….
Trump’s double blockade, a NASA splashdown and the sinking of Viktor Orbán. My latest at History Never Ended….. open.substack.com/pub/historyn...
The Everything War - US v. Iran; West v. West; Trump v. Trump, MAGA v. MAGA; President v. Pope; America v. America. So much to unpack. My weekend read at History Never Ended:
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The everything war - US v. Iran; Trump v. Trump, US v. NATO; MAGA v. MAGA; President v. Pope; Ameruca v. America. My latest at History Never Ended:
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Before the conflict began, the Strait of Hormuz was regarded as an international waterway. Now it looks more like an impregnable fortification offering a security guarantee for a murderous regime. Trump’s mission unaccomplished.
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Later this month King Charles will visit Washington, stand alongside Donald Trump and pretend that everything is normal and that this social media post never happened. That is how captive Britain has become to a special relationship that has long been a servile relationship.
After his open “Open the Fuckin’ Strait, you crazy bastards, or you’ll be living in Hell — JUST WATCH” post, this piece feels timely.
What to tell a child Trump:
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One of the features of this conflict has been to hear figures who claimed the Iraq war would be a cakewalk say the same thing about Iran. In this long read piece, I’ve tried to explain why America forgets the lessons of its forever wars:
Trump’s follies - the vertiginous Versailles presidential library, the White House ballroom on hold and, most importantly, the exit ramps in the Iran war he has no idea how to construct. My latest:
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Trump’s follies: a ballroom, a presidential library, and some still to be constructed exit ramps.
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American Amnesia: why do successive US presidents keep forgetting the lessons of the forever wars?
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LAPD officers arrest a protester dressed as the Statue of Liberty outside a federal building during a ‘Kings Day’ protest. (Connor Sheets/Los Angeles Times)
A remarkable photo from #NoKings in DTLA from Connor Sheets of @latimes.com www.latimes.com/california/l...
Feels like we need to reframe the question asked since the start of Trump 2.0 from where is the resistance to where is the support? This is Philadelphia, the cradle of US liberty. Similar large-scale #nokings protest across the country.
When our daughter was born in 2020, I wrote her a letter trying to make sense of the land of her birth. It was Covid. The George Floyd protests unfolded outside our windows. A tough time. I’ve written an update. What to tell a child about Donald Trump: open.substack.com/pub/historyn...
“Donald Trump is flailing, not just for an exit strategy but a political strategy. Even if he wanted to - and I suspect he does - he can hardly blame senior administration figures because that would undercut his boasts about having already won the war.”
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Why do the forever wars so quickly become forgotten wars? Why are the lessons of past failures repeatedly and routinely ignored? My latest at my Substack “History Never Ended”. All content is free.
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What should I tell my American daughter about Donald Trump? My latest long read:
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When GHW Bush was leading America through the Gulf War, its most successful post-WWII conflict, Donald Trump was filing for bankruptcy on the Trump Taj Mahal casino. My long read on the differences between these wartime presidents. open.substack.com/pub/historyn...
“Good. I'm glad he's dead”, Trump on the death of Robert Mueller, who volunteered for Vietnam when his blue blood family connections could have got him a deferment, won a Bronze Star for valor, and a Purple Heart and who served F.B.I. director in the immediate aftermath of 911.
Who is winning or losing is not the ideal way to frame the question. Who is exerting more influence over the course of this conflict is more key. Right now, that is Iran. My latest at History Never ended:
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I’m a fellow convert. Used to think compulsory voting was part of a punishment culture - a surprising panoply of rules. Now see it as a big democratic and civic safeguard. Preferential voting ditto. Weekend voting obviously. Take the democracy sausage back to the UK Ian.
Quite the lede from The Economist: and quite the cover.
“Although President Donald Trump says he has “destroyed 100% of Iran’s Military Capability”, the 0% that remains is playing havoc with the global economy.” And now quite the cover:
Dire Strait: the epic fallout from Donald Trump’s expanding war of choice. My latest. My latest at History Never Ended.
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America’s most successful wartime president since 1945 understood the horrors of war, the value of diplomacy, the need to respect allies and the importance of learning from history. He was the anti-Trump. My latest:
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Thank you so much.
Thanks Judy. Yes, I remember exactly where I was when Operation Desert Storm started. A different time. Thanks for reading.
The anti-Trump: America’s most successful modern wartime president.
My essay on how Operation Epic Fury should have learnt from Operation Epic Fury.
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