Trump II’s Big Talk And Overt Threats Have A Power Of Their Own
INSIDE: Mike Davis ... Marco Rubio ... James Ho
A lot of things happened. Here are some of the things. This is TPM’s Morning Memo.
The Call-And-Cower Response Cycle
As we observe the Trump II transition kicking into overdrive, MAGA loyalists are talking big, boasting of their newly acquired power, and spewing threats against all the usual suspects but in a more robust and full-throated way now that they have power back.
It sets up a dynamic that we saw the first time around, but presents more acutely in Trump II. The power to cow itself bestows more power on those doing the intimidating. It creates a call-and-cower response cycle that emboldens the aggressor, humiliates the victim, and demoralizes the opposition.
Note the pattern as we make our way through the lengthy list of developments over the long holiday weekend …
Trump Wants GOP Senate Under His Thumb
Trump insisted publicly that whichever senator is elected Senate majority leader “must agree” to allow him to make recess appointments bypassing the usual advice and consent process. The leading candidates for majority leader for the most part quickly acquiesced.
Meanwhile, Trump allies are pushing him to take the unprecedented step of getting involved in the Senate majority leader race by scuttling the candidacy of Sen. John Thune (R-SD), the current No. 2 Republican.
Pentagon Girds For Trump
“Pentagon officials are holding informal discussions about how the Department of Defense would respond if Donald Trump issues orders to deploy active-duty troops domestically and fire large swaths of apolitical staffers, defense officials told CNN.”–CNN
DOJ Hunkers Down For Trump II
“A collective sense of dread has taken hold at the Department of Justice, which drew Donald Trump’s rage like no other part of the federal government during his campaign.”–Politico
Chasing Down Jan. 6 Rioters While There’s Still Time
“The Justice Department plans to focus on arresting the “most egregious” Jan. 6 rioters — particularly those who committed felony assaults on law enforcement officers but have not yet been arrested — in the remaining 72 days before President-elect Donald Trump is back in the White House, a law enforcement official told NBC News this week.”–NBC News
‘We Will Put Your Fat Ass In Prison’
An awful attack on New York Attorney General Letitia James from Mike Davis, a stalwart of the Trump II camp that wants revenge and retribution against those whom he claimed engaged in “lawfare” against Donald Trump. Davis is a former clerk to Supreme Court Justice Neil Gorsuch and former staffer to Sen. Charles Grassley (R-IA).
Trump Staffs Up
The initial round of announcements of key Trump II administration officials confirmed the expected emphases on loyalty and hardcore anti-immigration bona fides:
Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL): secretary of state
Gov. Kristi Noem (R-SD): secretary of the Department of Homeland Security
Former Rep. Lee Zeldin (R-NY): EPA administrator
Rep. Elsie Stefanik (R-NY): UN ambassador
Stephen Miller: deputy White House chief of staff
Former acting head of the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency Tom Homan: White House “border czar”
2024 Ephemera
GOP on verge of retaining the House: “House Republicans only need to win one more seat of the remaining seven uncalled toss-up races to retain the majority.”–Punchbowl
AZ-Sen: Rep. Ruben Gallego (D) prevails over election-denier extraordinaire Kari Lake (R), leaving Republicans with a 53-seat Senate majority.
Sweep: Donald Trump flipped Arizona, giving him victories in all seven swing states.
Puzzling Over The Gender Gap
Kamala Harris won a majority of female voters but by a narrower margin over Trump than Joe Biden did in 2020, despite Dobbs.
Feds Reveal Alleged Iranian Plot To Assassinate Trump
“Iranian agents plotted to assassinate Donald Trump before he was re-elected as president, the Justice Department revealed Friday in a case that underscores the barrage of security threats Trump faces even before he takes office.”–WSJ
Sotomayor Not Going Anywhere
“Despite calls from some liberal activists for Justice Sonia Sotomayor to step down while Democrats can fill her seat before political power changes hands in January, she has no plans to retire from the Supreme Court, people close to the justice said.”–WSJ
Can SCOTUS Stand Up To Trump Even If It Wants To?
Georgetown law professor Stephen Vladeck:
Based on Mr. Trump’s first four years in the White House, it stands to reason that there will be at least some cases in which his behavior goes too far for a majority of the current court — just as there have been cases in which even this court has pushed back against the excesses of Republican governors or conservative lower courts. If the court rules against Mr. Trump and he tells the justices to pound sand, what will happen then?
Auditioning For Supreme Court?
Judge James Ho of the Fifth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals gave an interview to The Volokh Conspiracy in which he asserted a vast new exception to birthright citizenship for the children of undocumented immigrants that has not been previously recognized under U.S. law:
[B]irthright citizenship obviously doesn’t apply in case of war or invasion. No one to my knowledge has ever argued that the children of invading aliens are entitled to birthright citizenship. And I can’t imagine what the legal argument for that would be. It’s like the debate over unlawful combatants after 9/11. Everyone agrees that birthright citizenship doesn’t apply to the children of lawful combatants. And it’s hard to see anyone arguing that unlawful combatants should be treated more favorably than lawful combatants.
Keep On Your Radar …
The judge overseeing Trump’s hush money case in New York state is expected to issue a ruling today on whether the conviction can still stand in light of the Supreme Court’s presidential immunity decision.
Women Are Stockpiling Abortion Pills
“Aid Access, one of the largest suppliers of abortion pills, reported receiving 10,000 requests for the medication in the 24 hours after the election was called for the Republican nominee early Wednesday — roughly 17 times the 600 that the organization typically gets in a day.”–WaPo
Remnick Ruminates
New Yorker editor David Remnick:
An American retreat from liberal democracy—a precious yet vulnerable inheritance—would be a calamity. Indifference is a form of surrender. Indifference to mass deportations would signal an abnegation of one of the nation’s guiding promises. Vladimir Putin welcomes Trump’s return not only because it makes his life immeasurably easier in his determination to subjugate a free and sovereign Ukraine but because it validates his assertion that American democracy is a sham—that there is no democracy. All that matters is power and self-interest. The rest is sanctimony and hypocrisy. Putin reminds us that liberal democracy is not a permanence; it can turn out to be an episode.
GOOD READ
Molly McKew, on Russia and what democracies can do to push back against the rise of autocratic powers:
Democracies have not adapted to the speed of this century, and as long as we fail to meet this challenge, political forces that bring autocratic tactics to democratic systems will continue to win elections.
Speed and decisiveness are what autocracies — and private business — have that democracies usually do not. They are out-competing democracy, and increasingly they are moving toward the same unified endpoint.
Helene Felled Vast Areas Of North Carolina’s Forests
The WaPo has produced a close, well-done examination of Hurricane Helene’s impact on North Carolina’s forest canopy.
Want better media? Support a better media company!
TPM is reader-funded, unionized, and mission-driven. Read our mission.
Thank you for describing the Cow and Cower Response Cycle and for including the link to Molly McKew’s writing. Both are excellent.
I am so done with all the post election analysis that tries to reinforce this cowering mechanism. Yes, trump is doing what we expected, as quickly as we expected, with support from those we expected. It’s no surprise and no reason to run around with our hair on fire. Let’s figure out what we need to do that will show people the exact consequences of his actions and inactions.
If it wasn’t obvious before now, no amount of door knocking and personal outreach and money can compare with misinformation and disinformation that’s more easily influencing our electorate. It’s not because Dems aren’t plugged in enough in the ‘brosphere’ or whatever sphere. It’s because we need to figure out how to communicate. Even under Obama, Dems didn’t effectively communicate his achievements that directly affected people and Biden was worse even though what he’s accomplished is (will be) mammoth.
We need to start on Day One, tracking the things that prompted those to vote for Trump to show them how they fared along the way. We can be successful in the midterms if we have a story to tell and one that reaches people. How are we going to do that? Let’s figure it out.
that Post story about our loss of trees bc of Helene...I'm in Asheville. we're still seeing the Biblical-disaster-level damage in bits and pieces. just read that we lost 20 percent of our trees. hard to convey the grief and desolation of it. hard to get your mind around. our house wasn't damaged but a mile away Biltmore Village was under 20 feet of water. everywhere you turn are piles of fallen trees and their debris. feels like we're suffering the consequences of two unforeseen, massive catastrophes: first Helene and now the election.