President Trump on LeBron James: ‘Maybe he’s a racist’; The Athletic, July 24, 2026

Mike Vorkunov , The Athletic; President Trump on LeBron James: ‘Maybe he’s a racist’

"I only like people that like me."

Former FIFA president questions ‘political power’ after Trump-Infantino call over Balogun red card; The Hill, July 6, 2026

 MAX REGO , The Hill ; Former FIFA president questions ‘political power’ after Trump-Infantino call over Balogun red card

"Former FIFA President Sepp Blatter on Monday joined those raising questions about soccer’s governing body overturning the one-game suspension of U.S. striker Folarin Balogun after President Trump spoke to Blatter’s successor, Gianni Infantino, about the matter...

Trump on Monday confirmed he spoke to Infantino after the U.S.-Belgium game and “asked for a review” of the play, which saw Balogun and Bosnia-Herzegovina’s Tarik Muharemović collide while battling for the ball. Trump also questioned the officiating crew’s use of instant replay to dole out the penalty."

Trump Is Making the 250th Small; The Atlantic, June 24, 2026

Tom Nichols, The Atlantic; Trump Is Making the 250th Small

"To the extent that Trump’s appearance was about anything besides Trump, it was about a kind of vulgar nationalism. Trump cannot comprehend patriotism, the love of one’s country. Instead he defaults to nationalism, the sour and hostile glorification of one’s own nation over everyone else’s. He does this because he views the world the way he apparently has viewed most things in his life: as a competition...

All Trump had to do tonight was walk out on the stage and remind the American people that the nation and its ideals are bigger than all of us. He could have told us that we are blessed to live in freedom and plenty. He could have reminded us that the survival of the American experiment, and the freedoms guaranteed in the Constitution, are miracles that bless every person who lives here.

Instead, he told America that he is great, and that because he is great, America is great, and thanks to him, it is now better than everywhere else. And then a handsome man in a bright military dress uniform sang “YMCA” to him, as the president of the United States danced and smiled."

STEPHEN COLBERT USES COPYRIGHTED ‘PEANUTS’ MUSIC DURING FINALE: ‘I HOPE THIS DOESN’T COST CBS ANY MONEY!’; Rolling Stone, May 22, 2026

 ELISABETH GARBER-PAUL , Rolling Stone; STEPHEN COLBERT USES COPYRIGHTED ‘PEANUTS’ MUSIC DURING FINALE: ‘I HOPE THIS DOESN’T COST CBS ANY MONEY!’

"During the final episode of The Late Show, host Stephen Colbert purposely used copyrighted music during a segment, a move that could potentially cost his former bosses at CBS a lot of dough if the music was unauthorized, and the usage were to end in a lawsuit.

“Peanuts is a powerful brand and corporation in and of itself. Anyone illegally using that music is going to have to pay through the nose,” he said, before addressing his band leader, Louis Cato. “Louis, Louis! Is the band right now playing the same Peanuts music I just said people were being sued for, for using without permission? Is that what you’re doing?” The band was indeed launching into the familiar Vince Guaraldi song. “Oh no, I hope this doesn’t cost CBS any money!” Colbert said."

There Has Never Been an Example of Presidential Corruption Like This; The New York Times, May 20, 2026

The Editorial Board, The New York Times; There Has Never Been an Example of Presidential Corruption Like This

"Has there ever been an episode of presidential corruption so blatant and threatening to constitutional order? Certainly not in modern times. President Trump’s Justice Department is using taxpayer money to create a $1.8 billion political slush fund. Ostensibly set up to compensate those who the department claims have “suffered weaponization and lawfare,” it will in fact reward loyalists willing to defy the law and commit violence on behalf of the president.

The fund manages to combine three of Mr. Trump’s most alarming behaviors. One, it is an obvious form of corruption, coming from a president who has used his office to enrich himself, his family and his allies. Two, the fund continues his pattern of using the Justice Department as an enforcer to punish his perceived opponents and protect his friends and allies. Three, the fund is his latest attempt to rewrite history about the 2020 election and the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on Congress.

It is worth pausing to put the fund into the larger context of Mr. Trump’s political project: He is destroying pillars of American democracy to empower himself. He claims elections are legitimate only if he wins. He uses federal law enforcement to investigate and prosecute his perceived enemies. He purges his party of officials who defy him. He describes members of the other party and civil society as traitors and enemies. He incentivizes his supporters to break the law on his behalf and rewards them when they do. He directs his allies to change election rules to keep his party in power.

Mr. Trump’s project has not yet succeeded, at least not fully. Many Americans — in the judicial system, in Congress, in state governments and elsewhere — continue to stand up for democracy and oppose his autocratic ambitions. By now, though, nobody should have illusions about what he is attempting to do."

Barack Obama on Speaking Out Against Trump and That Racist AI Ape Video: ‘I’d Never Talk About Somebody’s Family in That Way’; Variety, May 4, 2026

 Arushi Jacob, Variety; Barack Obama on Speaking Out Against Trump and That Racist AI Ape Video: ‘I’d Never Talk About Somebody’s Family in That Way’

"In a recent interview with the New Yorker, Barack Obama explained his reaction after an AI video was posted to Donald Trump‘s Truth Social account in February that depicted the former president and first lady, Michelle Obama, as apes."

Majority say ethics, honesty in government have declined under Trump: Pew; The Hill, May 2, 2026

SOPHIE BRAMS  , The Hill; Majority say ethics, honesty in government have declined under Trump: Pew

"More than half of Americans say the level of ethics and honesty in the federal government has declined since the start of President Trump’s second term, according to a new study from the Pew Research Center.

The survey, released on Friday, found that 56 percent of U.S. adults believe the overall level of ethics and honesty has fallen since January 2025. Another 24 percent said it has stayed the same while 19 percent said it has risen."

Pope Leo has stirred awake a progressive Christianity. It can rise again; The Guardian, April 26, 2026

 Bill McKibben, The Guardian; Pope Leo has stirred awake a progressive Christianity. It can rise again

"I hope that this fight – between the clergy and ICE, between the pope and the president – continues, because it’s providing a theological education to the public at large."

Pope Leo responds to Trump: ‘Blessed are the peacemakers’; OSV News, America, The Jesuit Review, April 13, 2026

Courtney Mares, OSV News, America, The Jesuit Review; Pope Leo responds to Trump: ‘Blessed are the peacemakers’

"Pope Leo XIV said April 13 he has “no fear” of President Donald Trump’s administration and responded to Trump’s criticism by telling journalists that his message to the U.S. president is “the message of the Gospel: Blessed are the peacemakers.”

Speaking aboard the papal plane, a chartered ITA Airways flight, en route from Rome to Algiers, the pope said that he had seen Trump’s recent social media post lashing out at him the night before the papal trip.

“I have no fear neither of the Trump administration nor speaking out loudly of the message of the Gospel, which is what I believe I am here to do, what the Church is here to do,” the pope said during the flight in a video recorded by OSV News.

The pope spoke in response to Trump’s comments April 12 calling the pope “weak on crime” and “terrible for foreign policy,” as tensions escalate in the Middle East."

The Trump Administration Is Trying to Erase Its Own History; The Atlantic, April 8, 2026

David A. Graham, The Atlantic ; The Trump Administration Is Trying to Erase Its Own History

If a new legal opinion stands, Donald Trump will be on track to become one of the most poorly documented presidents ever.

"The history of Nixon’s presidential record also shows the value of the law, even long after a president leaves office. Nixon loyalists controlled the former president’s library for years, and presented a whitewashed version of Watergate to the public. But the law required that the warts-and-all records be preserved, and when control of the library was finally wrested away and handed to Tim Naftali, a professional historian, in 2006, the library began presenting a more accurate account and providing access to historians, who have in turn presented more complete chronicles of Nixon’s career.

Trump is the most corrupt and scandal-plagued president since Nixon; indeed, his fiascoes eclipse Nixon’s, but many of them remain mostly or somewhat hidden, thanks in part to a much more acquiescent Republican Congress than the one Nixon had. In Watergate, the crimes were known; the question was, in the words of Senator Howard Baker Jr., “What did the president know and when did he know it?” With the Trump administration, the situation is perhaps the reverse: We know much about the president’s stated motivations and beliefs, but we do not have a full accounting of what he and his aides have done. Keeping a record would allow the nation to fully understand his actions and their consequences—if not now, then at least later."

Trump threatens "whole civilization will die tonight" amid 11th hour Iran negotiations; Axios, April 7, 2026

 Barak Ravid, Axios ; Trump threatens "whole civilization will die tonight" amid 11th hour Iran negotiations

"President Trump threatened on Tuesday to wipe out the entire Iranian "civilization" if the regime doesn't meet his 8pm ET deadline for reopening the Strait of Hormuz.

The big picture: Trump's new threat, which was the most harrowing in a series of public warnings to Iran, seems to be part of an effort to convince Tehran the risks of not making a swift deal are too dire to countenance.

Iran has accused Trump of planning to commit war crimes. The regime has not shown much flexibility around a deal in public comments, though sources tell Axios there has been some progress behind the scenes in the past 48 hours.

Vice President Vance, who is involved in the Iran diplomacy, said at a press conference in Budapest on Tuesday that intense negotiations would take place right up to Trump's deadline. "I am hopeful it will get to a good resolution," he said. 

What he's saying: "A whole civilization will die tonight, never to be brought back again. I don't want that to happen, but it probably will," Trump wrote on Truth Social."

Trump Demeans Himself as He Attacks the Supreme Court; Wall Street Journal, February 20, 2026

The Editorial Board , Wall Street Journal; Trump Demeans Himself as He Attacks the Supreme Court

He calls the Justices who ruled against him ‘very unpatriotic’ and ‘fools.’

"President Trump owes the Supreme Court an apology—to the individual Justices he smeared on Friday and the institution itself. Mr. Trump doubtless won’t offer one, but his rant in response to his tariff defeat at the Court was arguably the worst moment of his Presidency."

Trump Wants His Name Trademarked For Airports—Raising Questions About Profiteering; Forbes, February 18, 2026

Suzanne Rowan Kelleher , Forbes; Trump Wants His Name Trademarked For Airports—Raising Questions About Profiteering

"President Trump’s private company has filed for trademarks for airports using his name—setting up the possibility he could profit from what has historically been an honor in name only—just as plans take flight for an airport near his Florida home to be renamed after him."

The Infrastructure of Jeffrey Epstein’s Power; The New York Times, February 13, 2026

 Ezra Klein,

Produced by Jack McCordick

, The New York Times; The Infrastructure of Jeffrey Epstein’s Power

"At the end of January, President Trump’s Justice Department released what it said was the last tranche of the Jeffrey Epstein files: millions of emails and texts, F.B.I. documents and court records.

It’s a huge dump of information. Journalists, investigators and the public are sifting through them. What’s amazing, though, is how much we still don’t know — or at least don’t know yet.

Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche, who was Trump’s personal lawyer before he joined the Justice Department, has said that investigators identified six million “potentially responsive” pages but released only about three and a half million pages to the public. So what’s in the two and a half million pages that haven’t been released?...

What has come into clear view is the infrastructure of Epstein’s power — and maybe through that the infrastructure of elite networks more generally.

Anand Giridharadas is a journalist who has written for The New York Times, The New Yorker and many other outlets. He publishes the great newsletter The.Ink and is the author of, among other books, “Winners Take All: The Elite Charade of Changing the World,” which he published in 2018, and the forthcoming “Man in the Mirror: Hope, Struggle and Belonging in an American City.”

I often think of his work as a kind of sociology of American elites and power, and that has been the perspective he has brought to his coverage of these files. I think it is revelatory and worth hearing.

Note: This conversation was recorded on Tuesday, Feb. 10. On Thursday, Feb. 12, Kathryn Ruemmler announced she would be resigning from her role as chief legal officer and general counsel at Goldman Sachs."

Don’t deny military community unbiased coverage issues that matter to them; Stars and Stripes, February 5, 2026

BERN ZOVISTOSKI, Stars and Stripes; Don’t deny military community unbiased coverage issues that matter to them

[Kip Currier: Powerful testimonial of the importance of free and independent presses]

"Bern Zovistoski was editor of European Stars and Stripes from 1991 to 1996.

When Congress intervened several decades ago (1990) to change the way Stars and Stripes operated on behalf of the U.S. military worldwide, there was evidence of “undue influence” by the uniformed leadership.

The new directives adopted by the Department of Defense were aimed at eliminating military control over what to publish (or not publish) and to provide service members a newspaper that emulated the best aspects of American journalism, without censorship of any kind.

As the first editor of European Stars and Stripes under the revised policies, I was hired as a “colonel equivalent” with responsibility for ensuring fair and accurate news coverage, arriving at Stripes in Darmstadt, Germany, just 10 days before the massive air attack that launched Operation Desert Storm against Iraq.

I saw what the situation had been.

For nearly the next six years, I saw a remarkable team of civilian journalists and military members transform the newspaper into one with strong editorial integrity that offered service members unvarnished news and information — which, of course, they deserved.

During my tenure, I benefited from an excellent relationship from the two publishers with whom I worked: Air Force Col. Gene Townsend, who hired me, and Air Force Col. Steven Hoffman. Both supported my efforts to the hilt.

In fact, I learned during my tenure that a good number of officers supported our efforts.

When the Gulf War ensued, we deployed reporters just as many U.S. newspapers did, and in short order our daily circulation surged from about 80,000 to 250,000 — and many of those readers were engaged in battle.

Who would deny these men and women an unbiased view of the monumental events in which they were involved?

Based on all the signals from the Trump administration’s people, they would.

I had held virtually every position in the newsroom in my career up to this point, including 25 years at The Times-Union in Albany, N.Y. — 18 in a managerial role.

I learned that the purpose of a newspaper is to provide truthful news to its readers.

There were many instances during my nearly six-year tenure that demonstrated some military leaders wanted to — and tried to — alter what we were doing to serve our readers.

But believe me, none succeeded.

In closing, I believe this anecdote sums up our success:

When I arrived at Stripes, there were no letters to the editor.

Oh, an occasional question was printed, with a “company policy” answer by the military. In essence, our readers were not given an opportunity to receive answers to their questions or even to ask questions.

We implemented a policy that enabled any and every reader to write a letter to the editor — expressing whatever they wished — and required the writer sign his or her name!

We were deluged with letters.

That was a biggie (although common in U.S. newspapers that we were emulating).

This action confirmed that the newspaper truly belonged to the readers and served them.

It’s doubtful President Donald Trump, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth or anyone else in the current federal administration understands — or, perhaps, it’s because they do, and that’s their problem.""

As goes the Washington Post: US democracy takes another hit under Trump; The Guardian, February 8, 2026

Ed Pilkington and Jeremy Barr, The Guardian; As goes the Washington Post: US democracy takes another hit under Trump

Jeff Bezos’s axing of more than 300 jobs at the storied newspaper has renewed fears about the resilience of America’s democracy to withstand Trump’s attacks

"The email landed in Lizzie Johnson’s in-tray in Ukraine just before 4pm local time. It came at a tough time for the reporter: Russia had been repeatedly striking the country’s power grid, and just days before she had been forced to work out of her car without heat, power or running water, writing in pencil because pen ink freezes too readily.

“Difficult news,” was the subject line. The body text said: “Your position is eliminated as part of today’s organizational changes,” explaining that it was necessary to get rid of her to meet the “evolving needs of our business”.

Johnson’s response may go down in the annals of American media history. “I was just laid off by The Washington Post in the middle of a warzone,” she wrote on X. “I have no words.”

The Washington Post’s Ukraine correspondent may have been rendered speechless over Wednesday’s move by Jeff Bezos, the Amazon billionaire and Post owner, to cut more than 300 newsroom jobs. The bloodletting, which has raised renewed fears about the resilience of America’s democracy to withstand Donald Trump’s attacks, swept away the paper’s entire sports department, much of its culture and local staff and all of its journalists in such arid news zones as Ukraine and the Middle East.

Others, though, managed to find their tongues. “It’s a bad day,” said Don Graham, son of the Post’s legendary Watergate-era owner Katharine Graham, breaking the silence he has maintained since selling the paper to Bezos for $250m in 2013.

“I am crushed,” was the lament of Bob Woodward, one-half of the paper’s double act with Carl Bernstein that exposed Watergate.

“This ranks among the darkest days in the history of one of the world’s greatest news organizations,” said Marty Baron, the Post’s lionised former executive editor. Not one to mince his words, Baron castigated Bezos for his “sickening efforts to curry favor with President Trump”, saying it left an especially “ugly stain” on the paper’s standing...

The cumulative malaise that is descending over US media leaves the country’s democratic institutions vulnerable to attack. It can’t be exclusively blamed for Trump’s excesses.

There are plenty of other willing accomplices and capitulators, including universities like Columbia, corporate law firms and the gung-ho conservative activists who now control the supreme court.

But from Trump’s perspective, a media on its knees surely helps. The results are present everywhere you look.

Trump is unleashed, unchained. He feels so comfortable in his regal skin that he can berate a respected female CNN reporter questioning him on the Epstein files for never smiling.

He can peddle unashamedly in racism, posting a video depicting the first Black president and his first lady as monkeys.

He can send a masked paramilitary into the streets of Minneapolis, resulting in Americans getting killed for exercising their first amendment rights. And when the polls for November’s midterm elections look challenging for him, he can prepare for another blitzkrieg on the very foundations of American democracy: the ballot box.

There’s a paradox in all this. Many of the democratic norms that Trump is obliterating – take for example his destruction of the norm of Department of Justice independence in his persecution of his political opponents – were laid down in the 1970s in the wake of the Watergate scandal.

That’s the same Watergate scandal that was brought into the light by that pair of courageous reporters at a newspaper called the Washington Post."

'Spy Sheikh’ Bought Secret Stake in Trump Company; Wall Street Journal, January 31, 2026

Sam Kessler,  Rebecca Ballhaus, Eliot Brown, and Angus Berwick, Wall Street Journal; 'Spy Sheikh’ Bought Secret Stake in Trump Company

"Four days before Donald Trump’s inauguration last year, lieutenants to an Abu Dhabi royal secretly signed a deal with the Trump family to purchase a 49% stake in their fledgling cryptocurrency venture for half a billion dollars, according to company documents and people familiar with the matter. The buyers would pay half up front, steering $187 million to Trump family entities."

TRUMP’S STIFLING OF DISSENT REACHES A NEW LEVEL; The New York Times, February 5, 2026

The Editorial Board , The New York Times; TRUMP’S STIFLING OF DISSENT REACHES A NEW LEVEL

"THE CRACKDOWN ON dissent and speech in Minnesota this winter follows a pattern that is common in countries that slide from democracy to autocracy: A leader enacts a legally dubious policy. Citizens protest that policy. The government responds with intimidation and force. When people are hurt, the government blames them and lies about what happened.

The New York Times editorial board published an index in October tracking 12 categories of democratic erosion, based on historical patterns and interviews with experts. Our index places the United States on a scale of 0 to 10 for each category. Zero represents the United States before President Trump began his second term — not perfect, surely, but one of the world’s healthiest democracies. Ten represents the condition in a true autocracy, such as China, Iran or Russia.

Based on recent events, we are moving our assessment of one of the categories — stifling speech and dissent — up one notch, to level four:.."

Trump Deletes Racist Video of Obamas After Outcry; The New York Times, February 6, 2026

Erica L. Green and Isabella Kwai, The New York Times; Trump Deletes Racist Video of Obamas After Outcry

"President Trump posted a blatantly racist video clip portraying former President Barack Obama and the former first lady Michelle Obama as apes, then deleted it after an outcry, including from members of his own party. 

The clip, set to “The Lion Sleeps Tonight,” was spliced near the end of a 62-second video that promoted conspiracy theories about anomalies in the 2020 presidential election. It was the latest in a long pattern by Mr. Trump of promoting offensive imagery and slurs about Black Americans and others.

The decision to delete the link from his social media site was an unusual walk-back by the president, whose own press secretary just hours earlier had brushed off criticism of the video.  

“This is from an internet meme video depicting President Trump as the King of the Jungle and Democrats as characters from the Lion King,” Karoline Leavitt said in a statement, before Mr. Trump deleted the clip. “Please stop the fake outrage and report on something today that actually matters to the American public.”"

Newly released Jeffrey Epstein files: 10 key takeaways so far; The Guardian, February 2, 2026

Anna Betts , The Guardian; Newly released Jeffrey Epstein files: 10 key takeaways so far

"A new trove of about 3m files related to the financier and convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein was released on Friday, offering new details about his network and interactions with wealthy and powerful figures and the federal investigations into his crimes.

The release follows legislation passed in November by US lawmakers that mandated the disclosure of all Epstein-related documents.

As Guardian reporters continue to review the files, here are some of the key findings so far...

1. Epstein lawyers discussed possibility of cooperation days before his death...

2. FBI received allegations about Trump...

3. Musk had more extensive ties to Epstein than previously known...

4. Howard Lutnick made plans to visit Epstein’s island...

5. Mountbatten-Windsor invited Epstein to Buckingham Palace...

6. Richard Branson and Epstein exchanged emails...

7. Files show emails between head of LA Olympics committee and Ghislaine Maxwell...

8. New York Giants co-owner Steve Tisch exchanged emails with Epstein...

9. Files shed new light on relationship between Epstein and Peter Mandelson...

10. Hollywood film-maker Brett Ratner appears in image with Epstein and two women"