This is a podcast you should listen to for a detailed account of Trump’s desperate attempts to save his skin by killing the US experiment in democracy once and for all, either (primarily) via a ‘heinous’ voter-suppression Act or by other means, should that attempt fail: Trump has angrily demanded that  Republicans pass the SAVE Act, a massive voter-suppression measure. In one tirade on Truth Social, he threatened not to sign anything else until Senate Republicans get it done. That echoed a second rant demanding the same. After we recorded this episode, Trump gave a speech doubling down on this demand. But a funny thing is happening: This is trampling all over the midterm messaging of Republicans, who badly want to appear focused on the economy. A veteran Congressional scholar explains why the SAVE ACT is such a heinous piece of voter suppression, why it’s probably doomed in the Senate despite Trump’s pressure, and how his demand has trapped Republicans, given their cult-like thrall to him. He also walks us through the nightmare scenarios in which Trump and/or Republicans could conceivably steal the midterms. [Or simply stop them].

As we know from him, Trump only makes the very best appointments. One of his latest is the widow of Charlie Kirk to the Air Force Academy Board of Visitors, filling the seat held by her late husband. She is among 6 presidential appointees to the 16-person advisory board, which is tasked with making recommendations on the academy’s curriculum, discipline, and preparing semi-annual reports. Like her ex-husband, she possesses no formal military training or experience. A White House spokesperson praised her as the ‘perfect choice’ to continue her husband’s legacy, citing his ‘bold Christian faith’ and ‘deep love of country.’ Erika Kirk has developed close ties with the administration since his death.

Finally . . . This came up in my Spain feed. Flicking through it will give you some idea of the US imperial mindset behind the support for Trump’s ‘performances’ around the world. And the fantasies sustained by it. Hot air, indeed . . . Trump Is Restructuring the World Order and It Could Be Awesome. Trump could, in the space of a few months, completely upend the world order and reshape it to favor American economic and military might. On the other hand .